Forget Your Face
by KayKayeLLe
Summary: [COMPLETED] Wilson and Cecilia, a hearty UC attempt. C17- Cecilia confronts Simon, bringing Wilson along for the ride.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with 7th Heaven. Wilson West, Cecilia Smith, Billy, Wilson's apartment, Billy, and anyone else in this story that you recognize is not mine. However, I guess the grocery store is mine, although it is unnamed. Oh, and title comes from the Count the Stars song "I Love You Too."

A/N: This is a Wilson/Cecilia story. I was inspired by the UC thread over on the 7th Heaven fan forum board. I heart you people! Anyway, don't yell at me or flame me. You don't like the story or approve of the couple, you don't have to read. Yeah, that's the point I am at right now.

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**Forget Your Face**

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Wilson strolled through the local Buffalo grocery store, minding his own business as usual. He only stopped in to pick up a few things- some dinner, snacks for Billy for the weekend. As he went down the junk food aisle thinking of his son's favorite forms of malnutritious goodies, a young woman walked in front of him.

His mind quickly shifted from food to the opposite sex. It had been ages since he had had a real girlfriend. A chance for interaction with the female came when a package of pasta fell out of her overstuffed basket, going unnoticed by its prospective purchaser. Smiling, Wilson bent over and picked up the box both his confidence and ego were quickly inflating.

He tapped the girl on the shoulder lightly. "Excuse me." She turned around faster than either of the two anticipated, bowling Wilson over with her protruding stomach. He tried to regain his balance, but fell into a display holding packages of canned potato chips. Great, he thought as he dusted himself off and stood. I make a move and the poor girl's pregnant.

That, however, made him even more curious. He looked up at the young woman's face. Her hands covered her mouth, aghast by what she had just done, but her beauty still shone through. Her chocolate brown hair was tousled and cut to perfectly frame her pale skin and grey-blue eyes. Besides her looks, Wilson noticed her age. She had to be at least five years younger than him. Before deciding whether or not to continue with his conquest, he looked down at the girl's left hand- no ring. All systems go.

"You dropped this," Wilson said giving her the package he still had in his hand.

She meekly took it from him. "I'm so sorry about that." Her hands went to rub her stomach. "I didn't mean to send you flying."

"It's all right. Most excitement I've had all day." They both smiled amiably. "I'm Wilson.

"Cecilia."

"So…" he said and laughed nervously. "I've got some time to kill. Do you need some help?" He gesticulated to her large amount of groceries.

Her first instinct was to say no, but she really could use the help besides, he was awfully handsome with his compassionate eyes and dark, wavy hard. "I'd love some help. Thanks."

Wilson reached in and put some of her things from Cecilia's basket into his own in order to lighten her load.

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It was scary meeting some new for the first time, but Cecilia felt these effects much more than Wilson. They had been walking together for over twenty minutes and she had barely said anything. It was obvious he would have to be the one to make the second move.

"You wouldn't happen to be buying food for you and your boyfriend or something, would you?"

She smiled; she was really starting to like this guy's personality. "No. Just me and…the people I live with."

"People?"

Her face fell. "It's a long and complicated story."

Wilson nodded and looked down at his watch. "Well, I guess I should get going. You ready to check out? I'll go with you and walk you to your car."

"Sure, thanks."

They walked to the side of the small store where the checkout lanes were located and picked the one with the shortest line. Wilson put Cecilia's things in front of his own on the conveyor belt, separating the two parties with a plastic bar with a credit car advertisement on the inside. Cecilia remained quiet, which was strange for Wilson. Most of the women he knew in his lifetime were very talkative.

"Are you always this quiet?"

"No, not really. It's just, to be honest, you're scaring me. You seem very nice, but you're obviously older than me and I have a lot going on in my life right now." She rubbed her stomach instinctively.

"I can understand that. I have an eight, almost nine, year old son."

Before Cecilia had a chance to ask about that, the cashier told Cecilia the total price for her food.

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Wilson walked Cecilia to her car, just as he had promised he would. He put her bags in her trunk and when that was finished, they both stopped, looking at one another intently.

"Can I ask you something?" Wilson nodded. "How old are you?"

He smiled- he knew that one was coming. "Twenty five." Wilson watched on as she counted on her fingers how old her would have been when he had Billy.

Once she noticed him staring she stopped. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. That always happens." She nodded. "So…can I ask you something?" She nodded yet again. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

Wilson tried to keep from having his eyes bug out of his head. He knew that she was young, but he never figured she was that young. He couldn't believe that he was hitting on a girl seven years younger than him. She was like…a barely legal co-ed or something of that extent.

He saw her watching him. "I'm so sorry- I didn't know. I didn't think- I mean, I knew you were young but…and you're pregnant and I'm probably interfering with something and I- I just shouldn't have-"

She cut him off giggling. "Wilson, it's OK. I know you're not trying to molest me or anything. Actually, you are probably the nicest person I have met since I came out to Buffalo." She reached into her purse, searching for a piece of paper. Deciding that an old drugstore receipt for cotton swabs would do the trick, she retried that and a pen. "I've never actually done the whole 'give-you-number-to-a-guy' thing, but I guess there's a first time for everything. Here," she handed him the slip of paper and he grinned widely.

"Wow," he said. "Thanks. Believe me, I won't let this go to waste." He laughed a little at himself. He certainly wasn't acting all twenty0five years at the moment. "All right, um, bye." He figured this was his cue to exit gracefully.

She smiled shyly back at him. "Bye," she said in the most mature voice she could muster up.

Cecilia got into her car and sighed. Through her rearview mirror, she watched Wilson walk away. He got into a modest sized green-beige SUV at the other end of the parking lot. Respectable and manly, she though, but quickly recanted it. What was she doing? She was six months pregnant and had no support, moral or otherwise, from anyone she knew. She was very well up the creek without a paddle, and this Wilson guy didn't seem to be her ticket onto dry land. Still, his "je ne sais quoi" aura was endearing and sexy. But none of that mattered. The ball was in his court now and there was nothing else she could do but pull out of the parking lot and head home.

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A/N: So, what do you think? I think this couple works in a natural way, not as weird as I originally thought. If I end up really liking this one, it could be a looong one. But let's just see how everything goes.

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Reviews will give the one Wilson/Cecilia shipper out there some lovin'.

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	2. Chapter Two

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Cecilia woke up the next morning, crying as usual. She'd cried herself to sleep the night before, thinking of how pitiful a situation she had gotten herself into. She'd tried so hard to will herself back to the beginning of that past summer- before she had slept with him and before everything had gotten so complicated and hard to handle.

There was a knock on her door and she groaned loudly. She could never get a moment to be truly alone. Cecilia rubbed the tears from her eyes and sighed as the door to her bedroom opened.

"Good morning Cecilia. Breakfast is ready," George said.

Cecilia hated that kid- despised him with a passion. He was one year younger than her and it was obvious that he had a major crush on Cecilia. He always tried to be helpful, but quite frankly, he was _too_ helpful. George always would be about at the wrong time.

Cecilia didn't move form her bed and George walked closer.

"Are you OK?'

The mere sound of his voice was enough to make her vomit. "I think I'm going to be sick!" She covered her mouth with her hand and ran toward the bathroom across the hall as quickly as she could and flung her head over the toilet. She was well past the terrible morning-sickness phase of her pregnancy, but her emotions were enough to make her puke.

George watched her at the door for a few minutes and then left. Once he was gone, Cecilia stood up and brushed her teeth. She went back to her room to lie down on her bed. After twenty minutes of silence, she found herself feeling better.

Tat was until, of course, someone else decided to bother her. There was another knock on her door. This tie, a woman entered. Blond hair to her shoulders and kind, blue eyes. Julia didn't seem to anger Cecilia as much as the rest of them did, but maybe that was because she was only visiting. She and her husband were in from that stupid Californian town that kicked her out without any remorse whatsoever.

"Are you OK sweetie? George said you were sick." Her voice was calm and pleasant.

"I'm all right I guess. Just a tad nauseous."

"OK. Well, breakfast is ready, but you don't need to eat anything if you aren't hungry." Cecilia nodded. "If you need anything, Hank's here. He could help you out."

Cecilia nodded again and Julie left. She closed her eyes and pulled the covers up to her chink. She heard voices out in the hallway and her ears perked up; they always talked about her.

"She's fine," Cecilia heard Julie say through the walls.

"Good," said Ruth. "We worry about her sometimes." From her bed, Cecilia scoffed.

"Have you spoken to Simon?"

"Yes, a few nights ago."

Cecilia threw her comforter off of herself and ran into the hallway where Ruth Camden and Julie Hastings were conversing. "You spoke to Simon?" Ruth nodded. "What did he say? Did he ask about me?"

Ruth smiled sympathetically. "Oh honey. He…his head's just not in the right place right now. I'm sure he'll come around eventually. But right now, I think you're much better off without him."

Cecilia nodded forlornly and retreated back to her bedroom. She sat on her bed against the headboard and curled up into a ball, bringing her knees as close as they would get to her chest. She started to cry but quickly stopped herself. If Simon didn't need her, then she didn't need him either. If he didn't love her like he promised he always would, if he could just take back those words and toy with her heart at whim, that was fine. Simon Camden was dead to her.

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Two hours passed as Cecilia sat in her bedroom by herself. Emotionally, she was at a very low point- the worst she had felt since the start of the new year. The phone rang in the distance but she didn't care. A few moments later, George entered holding the cordless set.

"Phone's for you. Some guy." He sure did seem angry.

Cecilia waited for him to leave before speaking. "Hello?"

"Cecilia? Hi…it's Wilson- from the grocery store yesterday."

Just what she didn't need. "Hi."

"Looks, I know it's a little last minute and everything, but I thought if you weren't busy you might want to go out and grab a bite to eat somewhere."

"Oh, that's sweet of you. And I'd love to, but I'm kind of tired and that thought of food isn't too appealing right now."

"Well, you could come over to my apartment if you wanted, I didn't suggest that at first because I thought it might sound too forward, but if you wanted…I'd like to get to know you better."

This guy wasn't taking n for an answer. Cecilia was going to say no, but then decided against it. What did she have to lose? Nothing except her affection for Simon. "OK," she said. "As long as you're not some psycho killer or something."

"Yup," Wilson said laughing. "That's me. A regular Jack the Ripper."

Cecilia got his address and they decided to meet at 6:30. Immediately she went to her closet to find something that would help her brave the cold "January in Buffalo" weather and not make her look gigantic. If she could only do that, and spend the test of the day without thinking of Simon, she might have a chance of a speedy recovery from her latest and most devastating heartbreak.

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A/N: Yeah, this is really short. Sorry. Everything looks so much longer when you handwrite it. Speaking of handwriting, I wrote this out then typed it up, so please excuse the zillions of errors this probably has.

Also, I've kind of noticed that no one likes this pairing. I cared, then I didn't care, then I cared again, and for the moment I am not caring, as I am posting this now. I don't know…maybe this story will end up coming down.

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Reviews will tell me what you think of this piece. I, myself, am unsure.

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	3. Chapter Three

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Cecilia knocked on the door to Wilson's apartment. The building seemed nice enough- not too chic and not too shabby. And the few people that she had passed were as cordial as Wilson had been to her when they had first met. She was definitely living in the wrong spot in Buffalo.

A few moments later the white wooden door opened to reveal a well pulled together Wilson wearing a black knit sweater and casual jeans. With the dark color of his hair and shirt, his eyes really stood out. Even though they were an average shad of light brown, Cecilia felt as if she could get lost in them forever. She had never seen a man who looked like the way he did to her before. This guy was nothing short of gorgeous.

"Hi," he said smiling and moved out of the doorway so that she could enter. She noticed the big space he left for her and slightly took offense to that, until she remembered how truly huge she had gotten.

Wilson offered to take her jacket from her and reluctantly she took off the garment. She could no longer hide her stomach beneath her navy blue down parka- a coat that could easily house four small homeless children if need be.

Cecilia took a look around the place. Toys were strewn all over the apartment, but neatly tucked away into their appropriate bins and baskets. At least she knew he wasn't lying when he said he had an eight year old.

They made their way over to the one table in the apartment and sat on opposite sides, facing one another. They both smiled a little, not really knowing what to say.

Being the older one and the man of the two, Wilson decided to start up a conversation. "So…" However, he had nothing. He really knew nothing about Cecilia. Sure, there was plenty he wanted to know, but now was not the time to ask those sorts of questions.

"You said you had a son, right?" Cecilia said.

"Yup. My landlady is watching him for me. She's really the nicest lady you could ever meet and truthfully I rely on her too much. But it's hard when I don't have any family around and I want my independence."

"I don't have any family here, either. I wish I did…but I don't."

This struck Wilson as being odd. "So, you're eighteen and your living in a town with no family. Why Buffalo?"

Cecilia looked down at her hands. "I wasn't quite…welcome at home anymore. I got offered to move in with someone here, and I didn't know them all that well but I didn't have any other choices. Some days I regret coming here, others I don't."

"Where are you from originally?"

"California."

"Oh really? I used to live there." And that was as far as it went. "Six years I've been here though. Not here in this apartment, but here in Buffalo."

"I could never live here for that long," she said. "I came from barely having winters to this; it's too much for me. First chance I get I'm going somewhere warm."

"The weather is a challenge, but it can be good for some people. It builds character."

She smiled. "Maybe. Sometimes I think that if I see one more snowflake I'm walking back home, whether they want me or not."

He laughed at her. "Things aren't better for you here than they are back at your home?" This aspect of her really intrigued Wilson.

"No, no, they are. But I don't really know the people I am staying with, and most of the time they either act like they don't want me around or they won't leave me alone. It's really stressful."

"You shouldn't be under any undue stress." As soon as he said that Wilson blushed. "I mean…you're pregnant and all. That's not good for you and the baby."

His protectiveness struck a chord with Cecilia. She wondered why he was so concerned for her, especially since they barely knew each other. There had to be a reason. "What, do you know from experience or something?"

"Yeah sort of." Wilson grew silent and she waited for him to say something else. "My-my wife, my son's mother, she was under a lot of stress when she was pregnant. She was in the hospital all the time because of that, probably about a third of the time she was pregnant was spent there."

Cecilia was shocked. "So you're married?"

He shook his head and tears filled his eyes without consent. "Widowed. She died during childbirth. Her high stress level caused her to have high blood pressure, which really didn't help the hemorrhage that killed her any." Wilson rubbed his eyes a little and Cecilia sat with her mouth wide open. "But that was a long, long time ago."

"I'm so sorry Wilson. I didn't mean to bring that up. I feel terrible."

"Don't," he said firmly but agreeably. "I didn't have to tell you if I didn't want to." She nodded. "But, since you know my life story now…" His voice trailed off.

"Ah, you would like to know about me." He nodded sheepishly. This was one way to get information. "Well...it's a long story."

Wilson smiled sympathetically. "I know. That's what you told me before. I'd still really like to hear it, though, if you wouldn't mind."

Cecilia really didn't want to tell him, but since he had just divulged so much to her in such a short amount of time- before they even really got to know each other, she felt bad to keep it from him. Besides, not telling him felt as if she was lying by omission. "Junior year of high school, two years ago, I had this boyfriend. Things were...really intense. We, we almost slept together then, but we didn't. We broke up to try and keep from doing something stupid, and got back together, and everything was always this whole big ordeal with him. Then he, um, had something really terrible happen to him and felt like he had to leave town. So he went to college early and left me senior year. He came back for this summer, this past summer...and I had just broken up with my boyfriend I had that year, and it was so nice to see him and everything. He really comforted me. But he was older now, much more mature, and when things got intense again we couldn't stop ourselves. It didn't feel so wrong anymore since we were so old now. But we were wrong. I was only seventeen...I was still a child." She paused to close her eyes, battling tears. "I told him I was pregnant, and his family, and my family, and they all just decided without me that the best thing to do would be for me to leave town. His grandparents were visiting when I told him, and they said that since everyone was being so heartless to me I could go and move in with them. They had an extra room. So- so I did, and now I'm here."

Wilson reached for her hand and squeezed it, trying to prevent her from sobbing. "I was only fifteen."

"If I wish I could go back- go back and be stronger. Tell him that I wanted to wait."

"I used to think that a lot. Think that if I could do it over everything would be better. It's...it's not like that anymore. My son changed all of that." Cecilia looked so forlorn and young in front of Wilson. It broke his heart.

"I'm…I'm having a girl."

"How far along are you?"

"Six months." He looked at her as if she were lying. "I know, everyone thinks I'm due any day now. Even an obstetrician that I know thought I was at least eight months. I'm huge and I hate it. It makes me so self conscious."

"You have nothing to be self conscious of. You're beautiful."

Cecilia blushed. She could barely remember the last time someone had called her beautiful- it was a memory she was long trying to forget. Nothing was making sense anymore. This guy, man- Wilson, was so much older than her. But she couldn't ignore the way she was feeling. He made her feel scared and unafraid all at once. In short, he was beyond special. Cecilia could feel it in her bones. No way was she going to let the best ting in all of Buffalo slip away from her.

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A/N: I don't even remember what happened in this chapter. I wrote it right after Memorial weekend. The first date, right? Ah yes, now I remember. This chapter was OK. It was all just pre-stuff for the bulk of the story (a.k.a. what I really want to write.) I think this is the last chapter until I start getting into the meat of this stuff.

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Reviews will motivate me to keep working on the half-written fourth chapter.

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	4. Chapter Four

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The kitchen phone rang next to Cecilia's hand. No one else was in the room, so she answered it. She was finally beginning to feel comfortable in the house with the Colonel, George, and Ruth.

"Hello?"

"Hi." He paused. "Is this Cecilia?" Her voice had a distinct quality to it, a raspy tone that was intriguing. He was almost certain it was her.

"Yes." She smiled, realizing it was Wilson.

"Hi," he said again now that he was sure it was her. "I was thinking about the other night, and what a great time I had, and I remember that we didn't have a real date. Would you be interested in going out to eat tonight if you're not busy? I know it's a Monday night, but I'm free."

Cecilia thought for a moment. A second date was a big step, she knew that much, but it sounded like fun. "Sure. I'd love to."****

**Two weeks later…**

Wilson and Cecilia walked out of his apartment at the end of the night. Wilson had said he would walk her out to her car. It was late, 12:07 to be exact, and he didn't want to send a pregnant woman out in the middle of the night alone on an empty street. He told her that that was just asking for trouble to come find you.

They got into the elevator and Wilson pushed the button to go down. Cecilia couldn't take her eyes off of him. Wilson noticed her staring and she smiled. This time, she wasn't overcome with cowardice. Cecilia smiled back at him. In a moment of spontaneous enjoyment, Wilson reached for her hand. The width of her smile doubled, as did his own. Lightly, she squeezed his hand and he squeezed back. This taking it slow, dating like an adult thing sure was fun.

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They reached Cecilia car. She had parked underneath a street light, heeding Wilson's warnings from nights gone by.

"Well, um, this is my car."

They were still joined at their hands. She went to get in but stopped herself. He was staring at her- into her through her eyes. She loved every second of it and he knew it. She blinked and her heavy eyes refused to open for a few more seconds; she was tired from the long night.

"You look tired," Wilson said immediately. "You should go."

"Yeah," she said, feeling slightly dejected as she turned around to the car and let go of his hand.

Wilson wasn't going to let her get away that easily. He reached out to her, lightly spinning her around by her upper arm. She turned to face him and when he looked at her he knew this was right. Slowly, he bent down and pressed his lips against hers- their first kiss. After a moment, he pulled away. Cecilia smiled widely, not able to contain her excitement. With slight exuberance she pulled him back to her, her hand on his cheek.

Cecilia felt like Wilson was so good for her. When they kissed, it was as if he was raising her up, above all the negativity and low points in her life to a place where she could be free with him. He was truly one amazing guy, just like she had thought when she met him.

They continued to kiss until they both ran out of breath. "Bye," she panted when they broke apart and unlocked her car. She got inside and Wilson shut the door for her, the grin plastered on his face apparent in the dim light from overhead. She turned on the car and carefully pulled out onto the calm street.

She left Wilson standing in the cone of light by himself. That was the way he felt when he had kissed Cecilia- the light represented it so well. The illuminated things were all the mattered- him and the woman he was so highly attracted to. Everything in the shadows was unseen and unimportant. If it wasn't Cecilia, Wilson simply didn't care.

Two months later… 

Cecilia walked down the hallway of the apartment building smiling. She had really grown to like the place, and the man in 3D. As she made her way there, she passed 3C, the apartment directly across the hall from Wilson's. It had a sign on it that said "FOR RENT" in big, red lettering. Cecilia stopped and stared at that before turning to the door she was after.

There was a knock on the apartment door. Wilson yelled from the bedroom for Billy to answer it, and after some grumbling he made his way away from the TV and toward the entrance. He didn't want to answer it; he already knew who it was. Cecilia had been over everyday for the past week, and almost every day in the weeks before this one. Frankly, Billy had had enough. He hadn't liked Cecilia in the first place and he wished she would just go away.

He opened the door and her bubbly face was revealed. "Hey Billy."

"Hi," he grumbled and left the door open as he return to his show. He wasn't going to let her ruin a new episode of his favorite program.

Cecilia stood in the middle of the room after closing the door behind her as she waited for Wilson to come out. After a minute or two, he did. She rushed over to him and gently placed her hands on his face, followed by her lips on his. Their first kiss was sweet and innocent; the subsequent ones were much more decadent and intense. Wilson pulled away from her, not wanting thing to progress to far, and ran his fingers lightly through her hair.

He was so engrossed with Cecilia that he almost didn't notice his son stomp out of the room and run into the only bathroom in the apartment. He sighed and his arms fell from her head to her elbows. She sighed too and rested her head onto his shoulder, trying so desperately not to bowl him over with her large stomach like she had done the first time they had met.

"I'll be right back," Wilson said and kissed her cheek lightly.

Cecilia nodded silently and he was off. He knocked on the bathroom door before entering. Billy was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the beige tub and his arms crossed violently over his chest.

"What's wrong buddy?"

"You." His answer was short and mean.

Wilson sat down next to his son. "OK, I know you are mad at me. Why? What did I do?"

Billy, still being young, let everything out at once. "You're dating a pregnant lady! You're not allowed to do that! It's not fair to me and it's not fair to her. That baby isn't my brother or sister."

Wilson ran his fingers through his hair. "I know that, but I like her. Can't you be nice to her…for me?"

Billy didn't answer him. Wilson stayed in the room for five more minutes, enduring the silence, before he decided to leave Billy alone for a while. Cecilia looked like she was going to cry when he saw her again.

"It's me, isn't it? I knew he didn't like me."

"It's not you. And it's not me. I don't know what it is. Just forget about it; it's not your problem."

"I'm no good with kids. How am I ever going to take care of my own?"

Wilson reached up and stroked her cheek. "First off, I'm sure you're good with kids. And secondly, it's always different with your own child. You'll be fine Cecilia."

She smiled at his kindness, but she wished that she could be only half as sure of that as he apparently was. It was easy for Wilson to think that everything was going to be OK though. No matter how hard he tried or how much he wanted to help, it wasn't his problem. Things always seem easier from the outside looking in.

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A/N: Yes, I finally updated. Congratulate me. This story is going really slow, and for anyone who is actually enjoying and/or anticipating this story, I apologize for that.

Next chapter is going to be more action-ish, but probably still boring. I don't think I have a very good spin on the next event. I will have to put more thought into that one.

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The number two is very nice. Review

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	5. Chapter Five

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Wilson walked down the corridor of endless cubicles to his smack dab in the middle of the left row. The white outer walls, fluorescent lights, and gray carpeted separators made for a cold feeling in the office building, but Wilson still usually found himself being chipper. However, he had a lot on his mind. Besides Billy having a cold, all of his bills due in three days at the end of the month, and work being as monotonous as ever, he hadn't spoken to Cecilia in thirty-six hours. This was so unlike her. He went over and over their last conversation in his mind, but nothing could clue him in as to what he might have been doing wrong.

He sat down at his wheeled desk chair, took a sip of his coffee, and turned back on his computer monitor. His phone rang and he picked it up in a very professional manner, as he had come accustomed to since working for this particular company. "Wilson West speaking."

"Wilson?"

So much was contained for him in that one word. It was Cecilia on the phone. She sounded horrible- like she had been crying for hours. Something was wrong. He also detected the apprehension in her voice. She probably had debated over calling him before doing so. What had happened to make her do that? They'd had such an open relationship from the beginning.

"Cecilia?"

"Yeah, it's me." Her voice was quiet and placid, but hardly serene.

"Are you OK?" he was almost frantic now. "What's wrong?"

"Wilson," she said his name to calm him, "I'm in the hospital."

Instantly, he got scared. "What happened?"

"I…" her voice cracked, "I had the baby."

He almost dropped the phone. He had known that she was pregnant, but it had never actually hit him that she would be having a baby- a whole new bundle of how that she would have to take care of all by herself for the next eighteen years and the he had nothing to do with. They never really discussed what would happen to them relationship-wise after the baby was born. That aside, Wilson was not about to leave Cecilia alone now, when she probably needed the most help of her life. "How are you? How is she? Is everything OK?"

She almost smiled. "She's fine. And I'm…I don't know. I'll get back to you on that."

Wilson got an idea. He looked at the clock, 10:37. "What hospital are you at?"

"Buffalo Central."

"That's not too far from here. I have a forty-five minute lunch break at noon. I could stop by and sit with you if you would like."

She thought a moment. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I've been alone for hours now- since 11:42 last night when I popped her out and everybody left me."

His heart went out to her. "Don't worry, you'll have some company soon enough."

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Wilson knocked on the thick, wooden door at precisely 12:07 before walking in the room. The walls were light blue, the lighting came from the sun through the window- everything was cheerful in there except for Cecilia. She looked as cute as ever, but her eyes had lost their all-important luster. Instead, she appeared tired and frightened. It was obvious that she had been crying.

"Hey," he said cautiously.

Her mood picked up dramatically when she saw him, but it wasn't enough to mask all of her pain. "Hi."

He walked over to her, placed a light kiss on her right cheek, and then pulled up a chair and sat. "Let's try this again- maybe face to face will work better. How are you Cecilia?"

"Awful, worse than I imagine I would be. But…it's OK. I got myself into this mess after all." She paused. "It is better to have you here. I don't; feel like I have to act all brave for myself now. You know how awful this is…even more so than I do."

"It's not awful," he replied. "It's just difficult, I'll give you that. But you know how you've been telling me you felt lonely? Well now you'll never have to feel like that again."

"That'd not exactly as comforting as you wanted it to be."

"Sorry." He decided to change the subject. "When can you get sprung from this joint?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Do you have someone coming to get you?"

"Yeah, but thanks for the implied offer."

"Anytime. And along with that UI want to extend my "get out of jail free" card. You need me for anything, you just call. I'll come running to help you- whatever I can do."

"You mean, like babysitting?" she asked.

"Like anything," he responded with a smile.

"Thanks, that's really sweet of you." She lowered her head for a moment,. "But, in place of that offer to drive me home, could I ask you something else?" he nodded. "Got any pointers for me? I'm starting to get really nervous."

He smiled sympathetically. "Well, I don't really know if I have any good advice. Maybe though…just…realize that everything is going to change now. But the ball is in your court so to speak. You can either make this a positive thing or a negative thing. I know you're not too happy about this, and I understand why you aren't', but babies pick up on everything. It'd be very easy to take you anger out on your daughter. I used to be able to feel myself doing it with Billy. Don't' be another on of those angry, bitter mothers. I guess that'd the best thing I can tell you." What he was saying made perfect sense, but felt his words but through her like daggers. Tears filled her eyes but no matter how quickly she wiped them away, Wilson still saw them. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. You didn't do anything."

Wilson nodded. "Maybe I should go before I do anymore damage. I could come back after I get off work if you think you'll be lonely."

"You'd really come back?"

"Of course. Even with this baby Cecilia, you still mean so much to me." He kissed her one more time, this time on the top of her head, and left quietly. The silence of the room engulfed Cecilia again. Damn work. Cecilia wanted him back, and she knew he'd stay if he hadn't any other commitments. He'd lend two hands, one to hold and one to help. She didn't know how she ever got along without Wilson before.

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A/N: Hrm…this story seems to be fizzling out. I do have half of the next chapter written, though. Next chap has Wilson meeting Cecilia's kid and then something else. Yeah, that's about all I have to say.

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Cecilia is obsessed with Wilson. I am obsessed with reviews.

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	6. Chapter Six

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After picking up Billy from daycare, finding someone to watch him, dropping him off there, and going back o the hospital, Wilson was finally back in Cecilia's hospital room. He had only been there for a few minutes when there was a knock on the door and a nurse walked in carrying the most beautiful baby Wilson had ever seen.

She was a little on the small side, compared to all of the rest of the babies Wilson had seen in his lifetime. Other than that, she was perfect. She had a faint covering of thin blond hair all over her head, thickening into tiny ringlets by her ears. Her nose was adorable, and those eyes. They were a blue-gray color, and so full of mystery and wisdom, even though she was less than a day old.

"I figured you might want her," the nurse said, "since you have company."

Cecilia grumbled as she received the baby. She didn't really want her right now- it would be too awkward she assumed.

The nurse left and Wilson felt free to talk. "She's gorgeous."

"Thank you."

"What's her name?"

"Juliet."

"That's pretty," he commented. "Any Shakespearean reference?'"

"Yes, actually." She smiled; she didn't think anyone would notice. "We read that play in ninth grade and I fell in love with it. The writing, the plot, everything. It was brilliant. Ever since then, I've been fascinated with English- reading, writing, that whole bit. And besides the fact that she kills herself at the end, I really liked how strong she was through the rest of the play. I wish my daughter will be as strong and courageous as her namesake was."

"That's great," he told her. "I like it. Now you can share that with her. I don't' even know why my parents named me 'Wilson.'"

"I'm 'Cecilia' because it was such a pretty and different name." She rolled her eyes, "eh."

Wilson laughed and the baby cooed in Cecilia's arms. "I never knew you were a literary."

"I'm not. I just like that stuff."

"I see." Their eyes met and the passion became too much. They both looked away after a long moment and their eyes fell onto the bay.

"Look, she's asleep," Cecilia said with awe.

"See, I knew you could do it."

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Cecilia returned home when she was scheduled to, Juliet in tow. The Colonel, in a slight moment of compassion, came to pick Cecilia up and transport her back to the house. That was the last act of kindness that anyone remotely related to the family of her child's father would do for her. For the next two weeks, Cecilia got about a total of twenty, twenty-five hours maximum of sleep in those fourteen days. Juliet cried no stop and Cecilia was exhausted and frustrated. After three days had passed, she found herself crying along with her.

Whenever she heard movement in the house, she would get very angry and depressed. It wasn't as if she expected them to do anything for her, but it would have been nice if they offered- or even peaked their head in her room. They didn't bother to feed her, either. She was a big girl, a mother now, but that still angered her. She knew it was petty, but every time she snuck out of her room at night to grab a sandwich and a bottle of spring water from the fridge, she would get so angry with the Camdens.

She thought of her living situation constantly. If Cecilia was this unhappy herself, she certainly couldn't bring her daughter up in this environment. She never really thought of what she would do after the baby was born, but she always toyed with the idea of leaving from there and getting her own place. She'd cleaned out her savings account before she left GlenOak to use in Buffalo, so she had more than enough for first and last. All she needed now was an inexpensive place in a nice area.

No, that wasn't all she needed. More than a place to live, she needed help. There was no way she could do this by herself. It was becoming more and more impossible as the days went by. When she thought of help, Wilson was the next thing that came to mind. He seemed like the type of guy who would give you his left arm if you really needed it. She hated to use him or abuse his kindness, but in the back of her mind he was always some sort of option. He'd bend over backwards to help her in a pinch and Cecilia knew that.

-

She changed Juliet's diaper and her cying changed to faint whimpering. She picked the child's pacifier off of the bed next to her and put it in her mouth. She let out one final wail before finally quieting down. Now was her chance for a little quiet time. She could either use it to get some sleep, the most productive way to use her time, or she could do what she really wanted to do. Ultimately, she chose the latter.

Cecilia picked up the phone and dialed his number quickly. It was a Saturday at 10:00 in the morning, so she had a seventy-five percent chance of reaching him. She knew that he went out to run errands on the weekends, but he usually stuck around during the morning hours and picked up. Even if she couldn't get in contact with him, at least she could still get in a nap. It was a win-win situation for the new mother.

"Hello?" a little boy's voice said into her ear.

Good, they were home. "Hi Billy. It's Cecilia. How are you?"

"Where have you been?" he asked kind of rudely. Cecilia shrugged it off. She knew that he didn't like her, for whatever reason that was.

She was unaware of how much information Wilson told Billy, so she didn't want to just blurt out anything concerning the baby. "I've been really busy." At least that wasn't a lie. "Could I talk to your Dad?"

"I guess so," he mumbled.

Cecilia heard Billy put the phone down, presumably on the kitchen counter, and within a minute Wilson answered the phone. "Are you OK?"

She smiled. "Well hello to you, too."

"Sorry. Hi. Are you OK?"

"Define 'OK.'"

Wilson snickered. "It'll be OK. How much sleep have you gotten? Does she sleep through the night?"

Cecilia scoffed. "Through the night? I'm lucky if she sleeps _ever_."

"Then I take it you haven't gotten much sleep yourself."

"Nope." She sighed. "I can sleep through her crying a little bit, but I don't like to do that. If I start doing that all the time she'll end up wailing for hours and I won't know."

"I doubt that," he said laughing. "Besides that, though, you all right?"

She thought before she answered his question. Either she could pour her heart out to him or lie. "I'm…I don't know. It's hard to form a coherent thought right now. But I guess I'm not as good as I'd like to be."

"Do you want me to do anything for you?"

Cecilia smiled. See, he was helpful. "No, I think I've got it covered for now. Maybe later though."

"OK, you know wear to reach me."

"I know." She sighed. The conversation was ending; her moment of adult-normalcy was over. "Wilson…"

"Yeah?"

"I've really missed talking to you. And seeing you. And kissing you." Her mouth blurted out the words before she was able to think them through. She didn't regret what she said, though. It was the truth.

"I've missed you, too. But all those women I keep on the side, they make it easier to get by."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they do." Juliet dropped her pacifier and started to scream again. Time for some food. "Well, I have to go now. I'll call you again when I get a chance. "

Wilson's shoulders slumped on the other end. He hated for her to leave. He felt so incomplete without her. "OK. You take care."

"Thanks, I will. Bye."

She hung up the phone and held it close to her heart. Everything in the world was tuned out. There was shuffling in front of her door; that brought everything back into focus. Suddenly, it all clicked. Wilson, wanting to leave. She finally knew what she was going to do. Still without calming down Juliet, she reached for her purse. After fiddling through it for a moment, she found the scrap of paper she was looking for. As soon as she fed Juliet, Cecilia was off to call a lady about an apartment with the best location in all the town.

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A/N: This chapter is weird. Next one will be better I promise. If not that one, then the next one.

And for all of you who are champing at the bit for Wilson and Cecilia realize their connection (a la The Camdens,) just wait. You're time will come. Patience is a virtue. Wilson and Cecilia have to get a little closer before we can travel down that road. Traveling, road, HINT HINT!

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Reviews will tranquilize Juliet for the moment, putting her closer to a deep sleep and Cecilia in the direction of her sanity.

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	7. Chapter Seven

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Billy opened the door to the apartment, not thinking anything of it. He wasn't expecting to see Cecilia standing in front of him with some baby. After a moment, he realized that this kid had to be hers. She obviously wasn't pregnant anymore. Wilson walked in fro his bedroom and kissed Cecilia on the cheek. Billy noticed that there was no shock in seeing the baby from his father, or surprise in seeing her that morning. His father knew that she had had the baby and that she was stopping by that morning and didn't even tell him.

This enraged Billy in a way that he had never been before. He huffed off and sat on his bed in the middle of the main room in the apartment and both Cecilia and Wilson saw him do that. Cecilia felt bad, but Wilson was frustrated. He had no idea what was bugging Billy. He had been fine when Cecilia wasn't around; it didn't take a genius to figure out that it had something to do with her.

Cecilia shook off Billy's actions with an elegance that she had become accustomed to in the past year. She put her carrier down with Juliet in it in Wilson's counter and he started to play wit the baby. His baby voice made her smile; it was sweet and a lot less annoying than when other people did it. Juliet seemed to respond well to him, too. That was good to know, since she would be leaving her with him in a matter of minutes.

The diaper bag was the next ting that she placed down- right beside her daughter with a slight thud. "Everything is in here- diapers, food, two full bottles, a few toys- and a pacifier is in there somewhere." He looked away from the child and smiled at her reassuringly. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I am sure," he said. "You need me to help and I think it'd be good for me to spend a little time with Juliet. Besides, it's only for an hour or two."

"Well, great. Thanks again. I really owe you." Her eyes went from his eyes, to his nose, and then lingered on his lips. They were so endearing that she had to fight the urge to jump on him at that moment. As that faded from her mind, Juliet came into focus. Her eyes shifted to the right of her and to her daughter. She appeared content- now was the time to go. "I guess I should get going then. Quicker I go quicker I can get back." Wilson didn't say anything as she reached her finger out to Juliet. She wrapped her fist around Cecilia pointer so eagerly and tightly.

Why was she leaving again? This was the first time she was leaving Juliet, or having someone else watch her for that matter. She'd been with her for six weeks now nonstop. It was hard to just drop her off and walk out the door without her. But she couldn't bring her with her, and this whole thing was for her benefit. Well, her benefit and Cecilia's.

"Mama's just going to go pick up our things and I'll be right back, OK? Wilson's going to take care of you though. He's a dad; he knows what to do. Then when I get back, we can start moving into our new apartment. Isn't that exciting?" Juliet smiled in that way that she did- it wasn't exactly what would be called a smile, but Cecilia was able to detect it like any mother would have. She sighed and bent down, kissing her forehead. Then, she turned back to Wilson and kissed his lips quickly. "Thanks," she said again. After looking back about four times in the three feet it was from where she was standing to the door, Cecilia finally left. She lingered outside of the door and listened intently for crying. After hearing nothing, she was off down the elevator.

Wilson picked up Juliet's carrier and placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch, then sat himself at the couch. He didn't really know what he should be doing. He fully grasped the concept of babysitting- watching the kid- but he wasn't sure if he had to stop everything and stare at her, or if he could get up and walk around a bit. He thought about getting up, but then thought she would probably wail if he left her. Instead, he thought of something better.

"Hey Billy, come here for a second." Grudgingly, he obliged. "I'd like you to meet someone. Sit please." Billy just crossed his arms over his chest, stuck on hip out, and remained standing. Wilson rolled his eyes at the moodiness of his son. "Fine, don't sit. This," he put his hand on the carrier, "is Cecilia daughter. Her name is Juliet."

"Hi," he spat out in the baby's direction. "Cecilia was pregnant before you met her, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you care about her so much? This isn't your daughter. She isn't your wife. What's the point?"

"The point is," Wilson said calmly, "that I like Cecilia. She's a very nice woman, and right now she needs a little help from us. That's why we are watching Juliet for an hour or so."

"Where did _she_ go?" Billy said, referring to Cecilia in a rude tone.

"She went back to her house to get her things." He sighed, knowing this would bring about some big fight, but he knew he had to tell him eventually. "Cecilia is moving into the apartment across the hall, the one the Vanovers used to live in."

"I hate you!" he screamed. Juliet jumped, as did Wilson, but nothing earth shattering happened. "Now she's going to be over here constantly! How could you let this happen? Why? What did I do to make you do this?"

This time, Billy didn't run away. That made Wilson think that Billy actually wanted an answer to the questions he had just posed. "You didn't do anything. And I didn't let anything happen. Cecilia saw that the apartment was for rent when she came over one day. Besides, I have no control over where she lives, Billy."

"I know," he said, this time more calm but with tears coming down his cheeks, "but now everything is going to change. I don't want you dating her. I don't like her."

"So I've noticed. Why not?"

"Because. Because she isn't a good person. She has a daughter and she's not married."

"I have a son and I'm not married," Wilson reasoned.

"You were married," he reminded him. "She's going to want you to be her baby's dad. And you can't be because you're my dad. I'm not sharing you with someone like her."

"You think we are getting married?"

"Not now, but some day."

"We are not getting married- not now, not soon."

"Not ever?" he asked optimistically.

"Look, I like Cecilia. She is important to me. Not as important as you are, but important enough. Can't you just respect that?"

"No," Billy answered heatedly. Wilson knew he was starting to wear him down, though. That "no" was lined with affirmative undertones that weren't as hard to sense as Billy would have liked.

"Fine. Anything else you wanted to tell me?" He shook his head. "Any other reason you don't like Cecilia?" Again, he shook his head and then went back to sit on his bed. "All right then," Wilson mumbled to himself. He looked down at the floor, then up at Juliet in front of him. Her eyes gleamed with the innocence of youth, something Wilson, Cecilia, and apparently even Billy had been robbed of way too early. Growing up wasn't nearly as fun as you always thought it would be. Adult content is better left to the true adults.

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait in chapters. I was very unmotivated. And I don't even have any idea what the next chapter is going to be so expect an even longer wait. ::sighs:: I hate having trouble with this stuff.

Anyhoo, I liked the beginning of this chapter. The whole Wilson/Billy thing was impromptu and stupid. Oh well.

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Just because Billy doesn't like Cecilia doesn't mean you don't have to. Review and confess your true feelings like Billy did.

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	8. Chapter Eight

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Wilson walked Cecilia across the hall and to her front door. She leaned against the painted white wood and stared lovingly into his eyes, just as she had been doing for the entire night that she been with him. They'd been spending so much time together lately that it was weird to say goodbye and have him not be there with her.

He stared back at her with those same puppy dog eyes and reached out to rub his hand lightly over her cheek. She smiled as he did so. It made him feel so good to see her smile. Cecilia always seemed to be angry or depressed over something, especially lately. She'd gotten better since she moved into the apartment, but something still wasn't quite right with her.

At the moment, though, she was perfectly content. Her daughter was fast asleep inside and Wilson was standing in front of her. What more could she ask out of life? In a brazen but much thought out move, she stepped up onto her tiptoes and leaned in to kiss his pouty, model type lips. His tongue entered her mouth hers went into his, probing his orifice like there would be some prize involved.

When they finally pulled away, Wilson looked into her eyes for a second. The vulnerability that she often had was gone; she appeared to have it all together. He hugged Cecilia tightly to make sure that she knew how much he cared about her and her wellbeing. Much to Wilson's knowledge, she got the message. After patting him on the back, she released him and kissed his cheek.

With a smile on her face that was much more genuine than her hair color, Cecilia went into her apartment alone at midnight. She'd been over at Wilson's since 6:00, a little after he came home from work that Friday night. She'd only left once- to put Juliet to down and to grab the baby monitor to be able to hear her resting daughter while spending some quality adult time without her.

Cecilia put the baby monitor down on her kitchen counter and went into the bedroom to check on Juliet in her crib. She was still sleeping like a little angel. With that taken care of, she went back into the kitchen to get a drink of water before getting into bed herself for the night. Before she got to the drink however, the blinking red light of the answering machine caught her eye. She hadn't left a very resident specific greeting message on the tape- maybe they were wrong numbers. She turned the volume down as to not wake her sleeping child and hit the play button.

"Cecilia, this is your mother again. Just calling to check in on you, but either you aren't answering or you aren't home. I really wish you'd talk to me. Your father and I are so worried about you. But since I don't think you are going to talk to us, ever probably, I'll just have a conversation with your machine until I get cut off. Everything here is fine, still the same as always. That Martin kid you used to date, he moved to Chicago the other day. Simon's still gone, too." Chills ran through Cecilia's body at the mention of his name. "Your father talked to him the other day. You know he drove an entire hour just to talk to find out how you were doing? Your father said that he was really depressed and kind of acting crazy. But of course Dad couldn't tell him anything since you haven't spoken to us in eight months, so his visit was for practically nothing." Her mother sighed heavily into the phone. "Well, that's it. I think I'm finished. We love you and we hope that you are well. Bye sweetie."

Cecilia's machine beeped at her and the tape ended. She put her head in her hands and sighed heavily; she should have expected this. He was asking about her. She laughed sadly to herself as she stood. It was ironic how when she asked about him, he wanted nothing to do with her, and now it was the reverse. Cecilia went into her drawer next to the silverware and pulled out two envelopes- one was from when she had first started to date Wilson and the other from just a week ago.

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Cecilia,

Just writing to check up on you. I wanted to call you, but I figured it would be too weird to have a conversation after everything we have been through. A letter seemed much more appropriate to me.

Anyway, I doubt you'll get much farther than this if I do not apologize to you. I'm sorry. From the bottom of my heart I apologize to you honey. I love you, you know that. I'm sorry that I freaked out over your news and that my recklessness got you shipped out of GlenOak. But, in my own defense, I didn't do this alone.

I'm sure you're a busy girl now so I'll make this short and sweet and end it now. Be brave and please don't be afraid to call me- the number is still the same.

You're still my golden ray of sunshine,  
Simon

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Cecilia scoffed. Sunshine. He always used to say that to her in reference to her pretty blond locks. That was why the night before she moved out to Buffalo she dyed her light tresses a deep shade of chocolate brown. Simon never saw her off and never saw her new hair. She didn't just do it to spite him, though. All of the sunshine was gone from her life and she didn't want to be the one to provide it for anyone else. That Cecilia was long over with. At least she didn't regret doing that. She liked the color and the new attitude she had embraced. They were both more her than she had ever been in her entire eighteen years of existence.

-

With a deep breathe, she moved onto the second and last letter.

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Cecilia,

It's exactly ten months today since we had sex so I'm sure you've had the baby by now. Thanks for telling me- I really appreciate it. I know this has to be a lot for you, but the least you could have done was phoned me and said our baby was born.

I'm anxious to see it, and you. I bet we have a beautiful baby girl or a wonderful baby boy now. Maybe now that you've had the baby you can come home. I could see you and take care of the kid when I'm on break from school. That sounds like a great plan, don't you think? Well, I do. That's the best thing I have come up with regarding you in months.

I miss you so much. Your kisses, you lips, your cute little butt. Everything about you was so perfect. That's what I love about you.

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Cecilia had had enough. She folded up the paper and put it back into its envelope. This was ridiculous. Simon was such a…guy. So unlike Wilson it was astounding. Wilson was a real man, a gentleman, mature. Simon…well, Simon was an immature kid from a small town with no life experience who didn't care as much about her as he said he did. In short, Cecilia had long outgrown him and moved on.

She couldn't even imagine what she had ever seen in Simon. Maybe it was all the empty compliments that made her feel good. Her mother always received countless praises from her father, and you often try to model your relationships after your main "love" role models. Now she was old enough to realize that Simon thinking she had a cute butt meant nothing other than that he was a pig. No one who was worth her time, who knew her at all, would have said those things to her. Not when she really didn't want to hear them.

One thing stuck out in Cecilia's mind, though. Her parents called her. They, obviously, had her phone number. She didn't know how they had gotten it, but they had. Simon went to talk with her parents. It was only a matter of time before he called her, too. She wasn't ready to talk to him, or to anyone for that matter. She was still too angry and too ashamed for that.

-

Cecilia went into her bedroom and picked her sleeping daughter up out of her crib and held her closely to her body. Juliet had never, ever reminded her of Simon before that night. She never should have read those letters. She never should have listened to that message. And, for that matter, she never should have left Wilson's comforting embrace. He was a down pillow in a world of nails- a pillow that would do her and her daughter right. Right now, that was all the mattered.

She put Juliet back down into her crib. She stirred, but luckily didn't awaken. Tears rolled down Cecilia's cheeks as she struggled in the darkness to make out Juliet's face. Simon was correct in saying one thing; she was the most beautiful baby girl Cecilia had ever seen. What she felt for Juliet was true, unconditional love. Simon could have learned a thing or two from Cecilia and his estranged daughter.

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A/N: Cecilia's mother is not mine, either. They've showed her on the show but she was always kind of a ditz. A tried to give her at least half a brain. Plus, I used her because you always saw interaction between Cecilia and her father on TV; I wanted to spice it up a little.

I liked this chapter kind of. It was strange but in a good way. Not all that sappy- darker and plot moving. Good.

Next chapter the rating might go up. What is the rating on this? If it's PG-13 then maybe not but PG definitely. So…yeah. I'm excited now.

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What do you guys think of this more developed Cecilia? Review and tell me about it.

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	9. Chapter Nine

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The phone rang throughout Cecilia's apartment. She was busy with Juliet, so she let it ring a few times. Two rings, three, four. She dashed out of the bedroom and over to the cordless in the other room. "Hello?" she said like she always did. As soon as she answered, though, she got a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her parents? No, she wouldn't feel that way. She had more power over them than they had over her at the moment.

"Cecilia?"

He'd found her. Cecilia just felt like she wanted to grab Juliet and run away as far and fast as she could. "Hello Simon," she said in a curt manner.

"Gee, you remember who I am. What a shock."

"Excuse me?"

He laughed a little on the other end. "It was a joke. Lighten up babe."

Cecilia was in no mood for laughter. "Did you call for a reason?"

Simon was hurt that she wanted to get down to business so soon, but if that was the way she wanted it then so be it. "Yeah. I wanted to see how you are doing."

Although she knew he meant the singular "you," she answered for her and her daughter anyway. "We're both fine, no thanks to you."

"What?" He sounded astonished that she would say such a thing to him. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had a place to live."

"First off, your grandparents took me in, not you." She noticed she was beginning to raise her voice, so she made a conscious effort to cool down a bit. "And second, if it weren't for you I never would have been pregnant."

"Is something wrong sweetheart?"

Cecilia was ready to scream. How could he not be getting this? What had happened to him since she last saw him? She never knew that anything could change that much. "Everything was fine until you called," she said, choosing to just answer his question and not comment on the "sweetheart" ordeal.

"Now, come on…" Simon said something else, but she couldn't hear him. Juliet had started crying in the middle of his sentence.

"Simon, I have to go." More than that, she didn't want to have to deal with him anymore. "It was a pleasure chatting with you, really, but your daughter is calling.

The tone in his voice completely changed. "Daughter? It's a girl?"

A twinge of compassion rose in Cecilia's heart. "Yes. Juliet Holly Smith."

"Wow," he mumbled.

Cecilia instantly got notions in her head of them being a family, or him helping her out, or at the very least Simon acting more normal than he had been since she told him she was pregnant. But she knew none of that would ever happen. She had a new life now and she didn't need him. Hopefully, she'd be able to cut off all ties with him and lead as normal of a life as possible. Still, there was no real reason to be mean to him. Not yet, anyway.

"Yeah, that is definitely in the 'wow' category." She paused and remembered about Juliet. "I'll talk to you later Simon. Bye."

Cecilia put down the phone, and after taking a second to regroup, she went in and got Juliet. She picked her daughter up out of her crib and her wailing ceased. It was time for some breakfast. As she set Juliet down in her highchair, Juliet's eyes seemed to probe Cecilia's mind. She wanted information, or at least that was what it seemed.

"That was your Daddy on the phone," Cecilia explained as she fed her strained peas. "You've never met him because he was mean to Mommy before I came to live here. He lives in California. I lived in California, too. So do all of your grandparents." Cecilia started to get reminiscent. "You'd like it there. There were lots of kids, and it was warm almost all year round. Everybody knew everyone and it was just a great town.

"But I guess everybody knowing everyone was what made me come and move out here. Your great-grandparents let me move in with them until I had you. That sounds like a nice thing, but it wasn't that great. And then I had you and we moved here. I like it here, don't you?" The baby seemed to agree. "Good.

"I thought that if I moved us here and I didn't tell anyone where we were going- our address, our number- then we'd be safe. No one could find us. Everything just might be OK. But now…now I don't know honey." She started to get choked up and looked away from Juliet. "He scares me. He scares me so much. I'm afraid he is going to hurt me again. And I can't let him hurt me because I have you now."

Juliet started to babble in a manner that conveyed that she understood, almost like she sympathized with her mother. Cecilia looked up, bent over, and kissed Juliet's head lightly. "I knew you would understand."

There was a knock at the door and Cecilia jumped. She went over and answered it; Billy and Wilson stood on the other side donning jackets and carrying playthings. "Any chance you ladies would like to join us men at the park?" Wilson asked her.

She smiled a weak smile. "Sounds great. Could you give me five minutes? I have to change her and get her dressed and then we can leave." She stepped aside and allowed them to enter.

"Getting off to a late start this morning, are we?"

"Yeah, well…" Cecilia grumbled and took Juliet into the other room.

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Wilson and Cecilia walked out of Cecilia apartment quietly, gently closing the door behind them. They went over to Wilson's and Cecilia set her baby monitor down on the counter. Wilson put one hand on the small of her back and the other on her upper arm. It took her a second to make herself turn and look at him.

"What's wrong? You've been strange all morning."

"Nothing is wrong." She wanted to end it there, but she figured he would still be pressing her for more information if she did. That was just the kind of guy Wilson was. "I got a phone call from back home this morning."

"Anyone special?" he asked as he moved and put his hands on her hips.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Kind of, not really."

"Oh, I see." He looked into her eyes and grinned. "You don't want to talk about it, do you?"

Finally she cracked a smile. "Not really."

"OK. I'm flexible."

She went in and kissed him lightly. "I bet you are."

"Really, I am. I can put my right foot behind my head."

Cecilia shook her head at him and leaned her forehead on his shoulder. He held her exactly right, and for the moment everything felt good. Every time that happened, she wondered why that was. Her and Wilson's relationship was kind of complicated in an unspoken and simple way. It might seem to be facile and ordinary, but they both had too much going on in their lives to have anything be perfect. And Cecilia and Wilson weren't perfect, but they felt right. That was all that mattered.

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The telephone rang. Cecilia sensed it was Simon. It had been two and half weeks since they had last spoken, but she just knew it was him on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hey CeCe."

She groaned loudly. "You know I hate when you call me that."

"Sorry. It just…reminds me of the good times we had."

"Well, guess who ruined that." Her tone was full of spite.

"Cecilia, I really want to see the baby- my baby. Juliet, right?"

The young mother was caught entirely off-guard. "I can't do that right now."

"Why not Cecilia?" He was practically screaming at her. His voice had her cowering in fear at the other end.

"You seeing her would mean that I would have to see you and I am not ready to do that yet. I am still too angry with you Simon."

"Why? We both had sex."

"I'm angry because you didn't take responsibility for your own actions. You seemed almost giddy to get rid of me." The receiver should have frozen due to Cecilia's coldness.

"But I am ready to start taking responsibility. I want to see her," Simon pleaded.

"No. "

He audibly gasped. "I have a right to see my child."

"See, I think you gave that up when you left me."

"You left!"

"You made me leave!"

Simon sighed heavily. "All I can think about is you and the baby," he said calmly. "Please. I'm trying to reason with you."

"I can't do this right now," she said with extreme honesty.

"Fine." He hung up.

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Conversations like that one went on just about every other day for two months. The fighting was tiring Cecilia out, and she was already tired from carrying on a romantic relationship and raising her daughter. Each call, however, got more intense. Simon would get more and more insistent. Her conviction did not waver, and that angered him more than anything else. The little bit of love and playful banter they had once clung to was gone from their chats.

Every time Cecilia hung up the phone, she got more and more afraid. Before, she was just afraid of Simon. Now, after talking to him so much, she knew that it was not just him that she was afraid of. She was scared of what he was capable of. His voice, his words- they made her lose sleep almost every night. There was no getting around the fear.

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Cecilia went downstairs to her mailbox and pulled out her mail. It was mostly small envelopes, but upon closer inspection she saw that a rather large manila packet was smushed to fit the perimeter of the box. She slid it out and read the address. It was from a lawyer in GlenOak.

The downstairs room started to spin and she quickly went up to her apartment. Flinging the other mail aside, she carefully opened up the biggest one of all. She skimmed the contents of the papers inside. Damn him. Damn him to hell. Simon had gone to a lawyer to get custody of Juliet. Cecilia slumped down in a chair and blubbered like her baby daughter often did.

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It took her nearly seven hours of crying and holding Juliet tightly for Cecilia to finally pull it together. After that, she decided she needed to get out. She took Juliet with her in her carrier and knocked on Wilson's door. When he answered, she realized how late it actually was. He was in nothing but pajama pants and squinted as he looked at her.

"Cecilia?"

"Could I come in?"

"Sure." Cecilia walked inside, put Juliet's carrier down on the coffee table, and Wilson led her into his bedroom so that they could talk without disturbing the children.

He took a good look at her; it was easy to tell that she had been crying her eyes out. Instead of asking what was wrong, though, he waited. He assumed that that was why she had come over so late at night.

"I-I…I," she stammered, "I'm sorry I woke up."

"That's OK."

"Could I ask you a favor?" She was practically panting to try and keep from crying again.

"Anything."

Cecilia didn't say anything; she just went over to Wilson and leaned against him. He wrapped his strong arms around her and she cried silently, unnoticed by her protector. They stood that way until they couldn't any longer.

"Cecilia, it's late," he eventually whispered.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm leaving."

"No, I meant…" Wilson picked up her hand and led Cecilia over to the bed. He turned down the sheets a little and patted the cool surface. He looked at her, as if to pose a question, and she nodded.

Wilson climbed in first, and then she followed. They lay with her back against his front, his arms wrapped around her stomach and her hands atop his. Oddly enough, this felt OK. Not necessarily right, but OK. After a little while, she rolled over to face him. Their lips were centimeters apart, and after a moment of gazing into each other's eyes, they shared a passionate kiss.

One kiss led to another, and then another. Soon their emotions had gotten the best of them. Cecilia straddled Wilson's stomach, still joined at his lips, and his hand went lazily up the back of her shirt. They both knew what they were about to do. Wilson pulled away from Cecilia, unsure. He looked deep into her eyes and saw no fear or apprehension. She nodded to him, and they commenced with the most intimate act their relationship had seen yet.

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A/N: This is super long. But I felt bad that I hadn't updated in a while, and plus I am going on vacation. I hope you guys enjoyed it. The premise of this whole story, initially, had been that Wilson and Cecilia had this big, sex driven relationship. It's not turning out to be such, but I still had to throw a little of that in here. I hope no one was too skeeved.

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Ooh la la! Saucy! What will they do next? Review.

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	10. Chapter Ten

**A/N: The x's are spacers.**

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The newly consummated lovebirds awoke the following morning cold. No matter what time of year it was, it was never warm enough in Buffalo. Wilson reached for Cecilia to the side of him. His arm went around her stomach, but it still wasn't warm enough. His next move was to produce warmth in a more physical manner. Wilson's lips gently caressed Cecilia's shoulder, then her neck. She moaned at his touch and he smiled.

"Good morning."

She moved her body so that it was closer against his. "Well it is a good morning when I am waking up next to you."

"That's good to hear." His fingers traced her midriff. "Can I ask you something?"

"I guess so." She knew what was coming.

"What happened yesterday?"

"Well, it's not just yesterday. It was kind of combination of a bunch of days things." She rolled over toward his front and placed her cheek on top of his. "Juliet's father has been bothering me lately; he wants to see her. Then yesterday I got papers from a lawyer in the mail…papers regarding custody of Juliet. He wants to take her from me since I won't take her to see him."

"Is this guy a good guy?" Wilson figured he probably wasn't since he basically abandoned Cecilia and his child, but people do make mistakes. He himself had made tons of them.

"He was, but then he forgot how to be. I…I don't know."

Wilson felt Cecilia tensing up, so he didn't press her anymore on that. "So what are you going to do about him?"

"Throw him off of a cliff?" She giggled and so did he. "I'm going to have to talk to him or something. I'm not going to let him tale away one of the two good things in my life."

Finally, they were both warm and comfortable. "What's the second thing?"

She nibbled on his ear gently and then nuzzled her head into his neck. "You."

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Cecilia went back into her apartment, and after about an hour or so of trying, she actually got Juliet to nap. She wasn't that bad of a sleeper when Cecilia needed to get things done. In fact, most of the time she often cooperated quite nicely.

The next thing she had to do was get in touch with Simon. As she began to mental prepare herself for a call to the Camden household, it occurred to her that Simon probably was not there. Last time they spoke about it, Simon had every intention of going back to the dormitory of his college in the fall and continuing to live the cushy life while Cecilia roughed it out in Buffalo. She certainly didn't know the number for him there.

It also came to mind that Simon still could have been home. Maybe he was more shaken by having an illegitimate child than she realized, or more than he lead on over the phone. It was quite possible that he could have dropped out.

When she thought about home, though, he parents weren't far behind. She remembered how her mother had said in a message, the one she had heard before she opened the letters, that Simon had gotten in contact with her father. Certainly they would know if Simon was at school or at home. They might even have a number at which she could reach him.

Talking to her parents, though, was something entirely out of the question. No way would she allow herself to go groveling back to them. What Cecilia needed was someone from Simon's side that would talk to her, and that she felt comfortable speaking with. Calling his parents would be as worse, if not more, than calling her own. She didn't know Matt very well, or Mary either, not that she had their numbers anyway. Lucy had practically spit on Cecilia after she found out that Cecilia had ripped Simon of his innocence and had so eagerly given up her own. Ruthie, much like her older sister, refused to even look at Cecilia.

What about the stragglers that came with the standard issue Camden family? She knew first hand how "in the loop" they were, as she used to be one of them herself not too long ago. Peter would be entirely useless and so would his parents. Martin practically hit Cecilia after he found out what she and Simon had done; he had thought he still had a chance with Cecilia. Chandler was a man of God.

Just as she was about to give up hope, she remembered the man who would be forever tied to the big white house and its inhabitants. Heck, he lived in the garage apartment and married the most blessed daughter of the Camden family. Kevin Kinkirk would most certainly do the trick. She didn't even have to go anywhere near the phone lines of the house, as she still had the number of the GlenOak Police Department burned into her brain, for reasons she did not recall at the time.

She took a deep breath, dialed the number, and waited for the dispatcher to answer. She asked for Kevin and they offered to connect her. At least he was at the station.

"Officer Kinkirk," he said with a hollow but authoritative voice.

"Kevin? Its…Its Cecilia."

He dropped the pen he had been twirling so skillfully between his thumb and middle finger. "Hi Cecilia. How are you doing?"

"I'm OK, I guess." She paused. "I was just wondering if you would put aside whatever preconceived notions you have of me and help me out for a second."

"I don't have any 'preconceived notions' of you; of course I will help." His tone was sweet and gentile.

"I was wondering about Simon. Is he back in school, or at the house, or did he get an apartment or something? I need to get in touch with him before her does something rash." Cecilia bit her tongue after the last few words came out of her mouth.

Luckily, Kevin could sense how frazzled she was and refrained from commenting or questioning Cecilia's last sentence. "He's home actually. He tried going back to school for a little while, but that didn't work out for him, so now he's trying to get into Crawford, or anything for that matter. Eric and Annie are refusing to let him just stay at home and do nothing with his life. But, quite frankly, I think they should let him be for a while. He's been through a lot and he really appears to be losing it. All of it."

"What do you mean by that?" Cecilia was happy to learnt hat she wasn't the only one thinking this way.

"He just seems really out of it. Angry one moment, happy the next. He's barely ever home, he has no job; no one is really sure what is going on inside of his head," Kevin explained.

You and me both, Cecilia thought, but it was time to get back down to business. "So, if I called the house I would be able to reach him?"

"Yeah, most likely. I wouldn't call past five, though. He usually goes out then and doesn't come home until three in the morning."

Cecilia huffed. "Does he happen to have a cell phone by any chance? I'd hate to call the house and have…well, anyone answer."

"Yeah, he does actually." Kevin pulled a note card out of his pocket that had all of the family numbers on it. "912-555-4357."

Cecilia copied down the number and thanked Kevin in a seemingly boundless manner. He had really been a great help to her, and very sweet to boot.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm happy to help, especially since I know the rest of the family wouldn't. I really am sorry about that. I don't know why they treated you the way they did, and I want to apologize for their actions."

"Thanks Kevin, but you didn't force them to be like that. I appreciate you help. Now I am off to go call Simon."

Before she hung up, Kevin had to get the last word in. "Cecilia, don't be a stranger. You can call me here whenever you need me, or even in the garage if you want to. I'd be willing to take the cold shoulder from Lucy and the rest of the family to lend you a hand."

Cecilia thanked him once again and then hung up the phone. It was clear to her that Kevin was not a Camden in the very least; he had just married them. Also, he wasn't as weird or crazy as she had previously thought, too. But, evidently, Simon was. This next conversation with him should prove to be quite interesting.

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A/N: Sorry about the long time between updates. It was my fault and I take full responsibility. Next chapter we will have the Simon/Cecilia convo and then move on over to the West homestead once more with Cecilia woes.

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Simon has gone crazy. Review and tell me how mental you get.

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	11. Chapter Eleven

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The phone rang over and over again with no answer. Cecilia could just imagine some mindless polyphonic ringtone going off without end in the heart of GlenOak, annoying anyone who heard it. Just as she was mentally preparing herself to leave a vague but harsh message on his voice mail, Simon answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi," she said. She figured they'd had enough phone conversations by now that she didn't need to identify herself anymore.

"Cecilia?" he asked just to clarify for himself. "How did you get this number?"

"Never mind that, we need to talk."

"I'm driving," Simon explained. "Can I call you back?"

Driving seemed like such a normal and mundane task for one like Simon; she was shocked. "Sure."

She only had to wait a few minutes for Simon to call her back. He had reached the driveway of his parents' house and dialed her number on his way out of the car. As he contemplated going inside or staying around the backyard, he chose the latter. He didn't need everyone overhearing his conversation.

"So what's up?"

He nonchalant attitude perturbed her. "What's up?" she asked angrily. "I just got papers from a lawyer telling me that I need to give up custody of my daughter!" Cecilia was surprised at how angry she had become so quickly, but she didn't feel that bad once she remembered why she had called in the first place.

"OK, don't get so worked up honey."

"First off, don't call me 'honey'. Second, why? Why are you doing this to me?"

"You can't just keep her for forever Cecilia. She's just as much me as she is you."

"This whole thing is about me not wanting to see you, isn't it?"

"I just don't understand how you can sleep with someone like that and then want them out of your life the way you do."

She wanted to hang up on him right there, but her better judgment got a hold of her before that happened. "I cannot believe that you just said that to me! Have you not been around for the past sixteen months Simon?! I left GlenOak and came here because no one, including you, wanted me there- not even a little bit."

"That's not true. We all wanted you to stay, but we were shocked by the announcement."

Now she was fuming. "You are completely and totally clueless to the world around you. How do you expect to take care of a baby, even for five minutes? How do you expect me to trust you with Juliet when you say things like that?"

"That's up to the courts to decide, not you."

Cecilia calmed down a bit. Yelling at him would only add fuel to his fire at a time when she really needed the help of the fire department. "Simon, you and I both know you don't want the burden or responsibility of an infant right now. If I let you see her, would you stop all of this bologna with the custody?"

He mulled over her offer. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'll come out to California with Juliet. I don't know how I am going to get there and where I am going to get the money to make the trip, but I'd be willing to do that if we have an agreement over the legality issues regarding our daughter."

Simon was surprised that Cecilia knew such big words. "Sure, fine. You have my word CeCe." She growled. "Sorry. _Cecilia_."

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Cecilia walked into Wilson's bedroom and plopped down in his bed, Wilson following right behind her. He put his hands on her thighs as an attempt to coax her out of whatever mood she was in. Her gaze failed to meet his.

"You seem distressed tonight. I thought last night had made you more relaxed."

She smiled faintly. "It did, but that was before I had to go to California."

"What?" Wilson questioned.

"I talked to Juliet's father and I told him that I'd go to California and take her to see him to avoid causing some big rift between us."

Wilson sighed and didn't respond to that. This whole idea wasn't sitting with him quite right, but there was no way he was going to voice that to Cecilia. Wilson stood up and turned down the other side of the bed and she climbed right in. He smiled and got in next to her, placing his arm around her waist as she reached up to turn off the light.

Neither of them were ready to sleep, so they both lay their quiet as their minds raced. Both of them were well aware of the fact that no one in the room was getting any real rest, and that comforted them. Staying up awake worrying by yourself isn't as fun as sharing it with someone else. A half an hour went by and the pair was still awake. Wilson lightly kissed the back of Cecilia neck and she replied with a heavy sigh.

Cecilia mentioning that she was going back home, even for a visit, threatened Wilson. He couldn't stay quiet about that forever. "Your leaving me, aren't you?"

"What do you mean? Like breaking up with you?"

"Sort of." Wilson placed his head closer to her hair so he could take in her scent. "More like moving away."

"Don't worry," she said calmly. "I'd be coming back. You couldn't pay me enough to get me to stay there. I don't even want to go in the first place."

"But you are going back."

She didn't quite understand what he was getting at. "What are you saying?"

"From what I understand, you left home abruptly. You've got a lot of unsolved conflicts there. Dealing with them long distance isn't working out so you are going back. You're forever bonded to those people there- your parents, his parents, him. Going home, seeing all of them, this is going to be a defining moment for you Cecilia."

"What, are you afraid that I am going to be sucked into some vortex over there and become so overcome with emotion that I'll stay?"

"It could happen."

She scoffed. "I sincerely doubt that." The room was silent again, and in that short time she realized how the quiet could speak volumes. "Do you think that I'm going to go back with my old boyfriend?" She felt and heard him hesitate. "Give me the truth Wilson."

"Maybe."

Cecilia rolled over so that she was facing Wilson. "Let me tell you something in case you already haven't figured it out. Juliet's' father is a boy. You're a man- a real man. I need a man in my life; I need you. He'd never be anywhere near enough for me, regardless of any history that we have together."

"OK," he said and kissed her forehead.

"And you could be worrying over nothing. I don't even know how I am going to get there. Flying could cost four hundred, five hundred dollars. That's money I just don't have for a trip I really don't want to make."

"You could take the train," he suggested.

"I'm not a train type of gal."

He laughed at her. "OK. Would you drive it? That would be the cheapest way to do it."

"How long would that take?"

Wilson shrugged. "It depends on how long you want to drive straight through. Two days minimum, but four would probably be about right." Cecilia looked like she was absorbing the information. "I always thought that would be fun. You load up your car with a bunch of stuff and someone you could stand being with for that long just drive and drive until you get to your destination. Plus I love driving."

Cecilia's face perked up. "That sounds great. Let's do it."

"What?"

"We can take a road trip together. I don't want to drive that way all by myself, the thought of me having to leave you makes me kind of queasy, you don't want me to leave and not come back- let's go together."

He looked slightly skeptical. "I don't know. Are you sure? I would hate to interfere with that part of your life. Maybe we should have some boundaries."

"No boundaries. I don't need them. I'd really like for you to come and for us to do this together," she said with complete honesty.

"Could I think about it?"

"Sure," she responded.

Wilson kissed her lips whole-heartedly and they both knew everything between them was OK. Just because the future was uncertain doesn't mean that the present was necessarily ominous. If living in the moment was what it took, that was what they were going to do to make this relationship work. They both cared too much to let it dwindle away.

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A/N: Hrm. I didn't like this chapter at first, but hen I reread it and I like it a little more now. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole Wilson being vulnerable thing, though. He's a strong guy- Cecilia's protector almost. Him faltering like this is so OOC. Oh well. It's staying.

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Road trip! Woo! What do you think about traveling across the country with Cecilia?

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	12. Chapter Twelve

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Wilson and Cecilia continued to spend their days, almost a week, together acting as if there were no big decisions looming around the corner. There was no mention of Cecilia's trip to California, or driving, or even either of their cars when they spent time together. Instead, they just enjoyed the surreal limbo time they had created before everything was forced to change.

Cecilia was over a lot, so Wilson never had that much time to think about driving across the country with Cecilia to see the father of her child. Whenever he had a minute alone that was not occupied by taking care of Billy, sleeping next to Cecilia, or performing some menial task at work, he thought over he forced himself to mull over his decision. It was not something he was going to do willingly.

To be honest, Wilson didn't really want to go over two thousand miles by car for someone else's trip. He felt like there was no need for him to tag along and there was nothing there for him in California. Cecilia asking him to go made him feel as if she had crossed some sort of imaginary line, overstepping the bounds of both her present and her past.

However, he did feel like he should be going for Cecilia's sake. He knew how much it would mean to her if he went. The look on her face when she asked him was so hopeful and innocent. If he went with her, maybe the trip wouldn't be that awful for her. She has had so much stuff to deal with in the past year and a half that he didn't want anything or anyone to have the opportunity to hurt her.

That was another main reason he concluded for going with her. Since he had met Cecilia, he had always felt like she needed taking care of. He had this innate instinct to protect her because she was so vulnerable when they had first met. He'd hate for her to leave and for him to not know what was going on with her. That would kill him.

Her leaving, period, would hurt him. Ever since that fateful night, they had shared a bed together, and almost every breakfast and dinner to date. They did everything together, and if Cecilia left he would feel lonely and incomplete. She had become such a permanent fixture at the West household that Wilson wouldn't know what to do without Cecilia.

One thing that Wilson could not work around was the fact that he was a father. He had to consider Billy's feelings before his own. He knew that Billy still disliked Cecilia. His hatred for her had lessened over the past months that she had been living across the hall, but it was still present much of the time. Billy would have to come with them to California, too. Wilson had to consult Billy before committing him to a three or four day car ride with her and Juliet.

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"Where's Cecilia?" Billy asked his father as he finished putting three napkins around the table.

"I asked her to come by a little bit later because I wanted to talk to you." Wilson pulled out his chair from underneath the dinner table and sat. "Have a seat son."

Billy did so slowly and then turned to his father. "Yes?"

"Billy, I have something to ask you. Now, if I treat you like an adult and tell you everything that is going on, do you think you can handle it?" Billy nodded his head vigorously. "Good. Cecilia…she has to go back to California where she is from- something has come up that has to do with Juliet. She doesn't have the money to fly there in an airplane, so I told her that she could drive there."

"That's a long way to drive," Billy commented.

Wilson smiled, "Yes, it is. Cecilia asked if I wanted to go with her- if _we_ wanted to go with her. What do you think about that?"

"Why would we need to go to California? Isn't this just for Cecilia?"

"We'd be going to help her out and support her."

"Is that what you want to do?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, I think it is. Would that be OK with you?"

Billy's tone went slightly sour. "I guess so. I still don't like Cecilia at all, but if you want to go then we can go."

"Thank you Billy."

"Dad, how long would it take to get there? Like two weeks?"

Wilson laughed. "No. It would probably take about four days to get to California from here. Then we'd probably stay for about a day or two and then we'd come back home again. The whole trip would be about two weeks."

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Wilson knocked on Cecilia's door after letting Billy into their apartment. The door opened after a few seconds and she smiled when she saw him. The two shared an innocent kiss and he stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"Where's Billy?" she asked.

"Inside. I have some good news for you."

She stepped closer to him. "Oh really?"

"Yup. I talked to my boss and I talked to my son, after talking to myself, and it seems as if all systems are go. As of Monday, I will have two weeks off from work, and Billy and I will be ready to accompany you and Juliet on an excursion to the west coast."

She wrapped her arms around him quickly in a tight hug. "Really? You were taking so long to answer that I thought you weren't going to come. And even just imagining having to go it myself made me sick to my stomach."

He kissed the top of her head. "This trip is important, and if I am going to continue to be in your life I have to go with you. I care about you too much to make you do something like this alone. It's as simple as that."

She squeezed him in even tighter and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I owe you everything Wilson."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Oh yes I do. This is huge. I am so happy that you didn't run away from me. I really need you help." Cecilia gasped at the words that had just come out of her mouth. She had never asked anyone for help in her entire life. Telling Wilson that was monumentally important to their growth as a couple, much like this trip was. Hopefully, by the end of the tip they'd have grown together rather than apart.

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A/N: This chapter bites. Basically I just spilled my ideas as to why Wilson should/should not go into a bunch of paragraphs and called it a chapter. Bleck.

And sorry about the infrequent updates. I know I have stalled, but hopefully with him accepting out of the way I'll pick up the slack.

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I want to grow with Wilson and Cecilia. How about you? Review.

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	13. Chapter Thirteen

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Wilson and Cecilia both did a final sweep of their apartments before exiting into the hallway and down the elevator with their respective children. They entered Wilson's SUV when they reached the street and made sure everyone and everything was secured tightly to the vehicle. Cecilia sat in the front next to Wilson in the passenger's side and Billy grudgingly sat in the back bench seat next with a babbling and happy baby Juliet.

Cecilia looked at Wilson one final time before they left Buffalo. "Are you sure you want to do this? You can still back out. I don't want you to think I am forcing you into this."

"You're not forcing me into anything," he said soothingly. "I offered; I want to come. I have to make sure you're all right."

She smiled. "You don't trust me to take care of myself?"

"I trust you; I don't trust anyone else."

"Can we leave now?" Billy piped up from behind them.

"One moment," his father responded as he picked up a sheet of paper off the dashboard. "We have directions until I-105 in California. We're stopping tonight once we get over the border into Illinois and we have the number of plenty of hotels as well as AAA. Cell phones are charged; we have snacks, bottles, diapers, and one working radio. Good?"

"Good," Cecilia answered.

Wilson started up the car and they were off toward the west coast of the United States.

Cecilia sat with her hand on Wilson's knee for the first hour and a half or so. Whatever the outcome of this trip, she knew she was meant to take it- take it with Wilson and Billy. This overwhelming calm came over her that helped her not to be so nervous. Events like this happen for a reason. This trip was part of someone's master plan.

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The driving was long and monotonous, but luckily they hadn't hit any real traffic, save the minor slowdown as they were leaving the state of New York. After that, they stopped at a rest area and Wilson drove straight through until they crossed over into Illinois. There they stopped at a fast food joint for a quick and cheap dinner and then went to the motel they had planned on stopping at prior to making the trip.

The room was average, with two double beds and one tiny bathroom. Cecilia didn't feel like showering that night, but Wilson and Billy did. As they did that Cecilia sat and played with her daughter. Juliet was so full of life that she made Cecilia happy just to be with her.

Since she was alone, Cecilia's mind began to wonder about her life in regards to Juliet. Everything would have been so different if it weren't for her. She probably never would have found herself in Illinois without Juliet. She wouldn't have met Wilson or Billy either. She never would have gone to Buffalo. This trip served had such a gigantic purpose for her. It was her awakening that life was all right. She was strong enough to go back and face her past, knowing her future with Juliet seemed fine. She was a mother- untouchable.

The boys finished up, and with damp hair everyone sat around talking and watching the basic cable that came with the ten year old TV that furnished the room. Billy spent a lot of time by himself that night. He still wasn't too keen on Cecilia after all this time, so he used the television as his escape. She was taking his father from him and never included young Billy in anything, which only added to the shaky relationship.

The only thing that made Billy happy was when the beds were divvied up. Being that there were two beds, Wilson and Billy got one, and Cecilia got the other to share with her daughter if she so chose to do so. There was no way she was going to interfere with his bonding time that night.

At least, that was what Billy had thought. Ever since that fateful night of promiscuity, Wilson and Cecilia had shared a bed. They were used to each other's company and both wanted the attention and affection from their significant other. This would be the first time in a very long while that they would be sleeping alone, and that in itself was for Billy's benefit more than anyone else's. Still, the necessary separation was killing them.

After the lights were out and everyone was relatively settled, Juliet asleep and Billy well on his way to joining her, Cecilia got up and went into the bathroom. She closed the door, turned on the light, and arbitrarily ran the water for a few minutes. After she deemed enough time had passed, Cecilia opened the door. "Wilson, could you help me with something for a second?"

He was still clueless when he got up to "help her." All that changed, however, when Cecilia practically slammed the door behind him and jumped his bones. He was surprised, but happy nonetheless. Cecilia probed his mouth with her tongue violently, needing the physical connection. She hadn't been this hands-off since before she met Wilson and it was killing her.

They continued to kiss and Wilson picked Cecilia up, sitting her on the sink counter. They both grinned devilishly. Wilson's hand started to move under her shirt and she let him advance however far he felt like going. With Wilson she was game for anything.

Wilson however, had more of a conscious than Cecilia did. He how wrong this was for the time and setting. Reluctantly, his mind pulled his body away from her. "We can't do this," he whispered, his breathing labored. "The kids- it's not right."

She sighed and leaned her head against him. Her shirt was bunched halfway up her torso. "You're right."

Cecilia hopped off the countertop and left for the bedroom. Wilson grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Hey. Don't-don't," he kissed her lightly. "It's not that- but we- I…"

She laughed and kissed his cheek chastely. "Good night Wilson."

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A/N: I know it's been a while, and this chapter wasn't that great or the realization chapter that everyone wants, but I am getting there. This is a start. To be perfectly honest, though, I don't know how I am going to do the big Camden realization. Everything beyond now is kind of fuzzy. It could be a while.

Oh, and sorry about the length. I hand wrote it, and when I do that length is a bit deceptive. I apologize. I also did a little MapQuest for this trip, so that I-105 is real and would be on the route, according to these directions, from Buffalo to Los Angeles.

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Goodnight moon. Goodnight lovebirds. Review.

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	14. Chapter Fourteen

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After what seemed like years of driving to California, they finally had crossed over into the state border. Both children were sleeping in the back, so it was almost as if Wilson and Cecilia were driving by themselves. Wilson looked over in Cecilia's direction and smiled before turning his eyes back on the road.

"So, north or south of here? Do you know?"

"South about twenty-five, thirty minutes."

"Exactly where are we going?"

She laughed as loudly as she could without waking the kids. "GlenOak- I'll give you directions." It was kind of a small town; she assumed he had never heard of it before.

"GlenOak? Are you serious?"

She looked perplexed. "Why would I lie about that?"

"I don't know." He paused. "Sorry, that's just where I am from."

She put her hand on his arm affectionately. "Really? That's so weird. What a small world."

"Did you live there all of your life?"

"Yeah, until the whole getting pregnant thing."

"Is that where Juliet's father is, too?"

She took a deep breath. "Yup. Simon is a GlenOak celebrity."

Wilson got a lump in his throat and a pit in his stomach as he continued down the long expanse of highway in front of him. "You don't mean Simon Camden, do you?"

She gasped audibly. His name struck so much fear in her it was amazing. "Y-yes," she responded meekly.

A sign for a rest stop appeared ahead and Wilson turned off without saying another word. He pulled into a parking spot of the medium sized lot and pulled Cecilia out with him so that they could talk without disturbing the peace in the SUV they had worked for four days to protect. He stood next to her, leaning against his door, but didn't make full eye contact with her. He wasn't exactly sure what to say.

In his defense, though, neither was Cecilia. She stared at her shoes for a few minutes, but then finally took the initiative to ask a question. "How do you know him?"

"I dated his older sister for years. I guess I should have told you this earlier, but I had no idea that you knew the Camdens, or if we were serious enough to justify bringing this up." She looked at him with wide eyes and he continued. "I dated Mary for… a really long time. We dated from the summer after my junior year in high school until about the end of my senior year. Then I went to college in Buffalo so I left her."

Cecilia continued the story for him. "Then she got shipped off to Buffalo because she was throwing her life away. Although, now that I look at it, she probably wasn't doing anything all that wrong. I guess they like to push people away." Wilson went to continue but she stopped him. "And then she ran into you, broke up with Robbie, and you guys dated. You were engaged but then she cheated on you with Ben and you broke it off. Then she moved back to GlenOak and the rest is history I guess."

"Pretty much, yeah," he said. Wilson's voice got quieter as he went on to question Cecilia. "You were living with the Colonel and Ruth… and George?" She nodded. "I used to be over there constantly. I like them, or I did anyway. I can't imagine them being that cruel to you. Sure they were a little hard on everyone, but they never were downright mean."

Tears welled in her eyes. "You weren't living there."

"…And you slept with Simon? I- we- he- I…" Wilson didn't finish that thought for fear of disgusting Cecilia. "I always thought of Simon as being so young. You're the same age as him? Wow, do I feel like I'm robbing the cradle."

The emotions this new realization was causing her made Cecilia snap. "You knew how old I was Wilson from the day you met me. This shouldn't change anything now. I'm nineteen and you were well aware of that."

"I know, I'm sorry." He rubbed his hands over the sides of her arms. "I wasn't thinking right."

"I'm sorry, too." She sighed. "I'd understand if you don't want to go with me anymore."

"I want to go with you even more now because I know personally who wronged you. They, of all people, do not deserve the right to be so hypocritical and unkind. Simon, the rest of the Camdens- I'll go to bat for you honey. You mean more to me than my nonexistent relationship with them does."

She looked up at him and a few tears flowed down her cheeks. He put his hands on them in attempt to comfort and silence her, but she spoke anyway. "This is weird."

He smiled. "Yeah, it is, but who else would understand the Camden's better than I would?" He kissed her softly. "Are you OK with everything?" She nodded, too overcome with emotion to speak. "Good. Now get back in the car so we can go kick some GlenOak Community Church butt."

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A/N: I know, I know, my update intervals have become longer and longer. I apologize for that, but I just didn't know what do to with this story. Now I have it half figured out. All I have to do is figure out exactly who Wilson and Cecilia are going to see in the next chapter and I am all set with that.

Hopefully it won't take me so long to update next time.

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	15. Chapter Fifteen

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Cecilia hesitantly approached the door and rang the bell with the shaky pointer finger of her right hand. Her left arm had Juliet in it, and her left hand clenched on to one of Juliet's smaller stuffed animals. She anxiously started to tap her foot as she began to think that no one was home. It didn't seem like anyone was coming to answer her call. Just as she was about to retreat back to the car as fast as possible, the door opened.

George Smith stared blankly at his daughter until his eyes fell upon the baby attached to her hip. He realized he was being rude and cleared the path in front of the door, allowing her to enter. Cecilia walked inside and went immediately to sit on the couch. He still stared at her; he completely forgot that the correct thing to do would have been to sit down.

Juliet started to get fussy on Cecilia's lap, so she shifted her weight to try and calm the fidgeting infant. The little girl looked at her mother, then up at her grandfather, and then finally back down at Cecilia. Her bottom lip began to quiver and she let out a few tiny wails before one loud one. Cecilia took Juliet's pacifier out of the pocket of her sweatshirt and tried to give it to the baby. Juliet turned her head every which way to avoid putting the object into her mouth. Once she realized Cecilia had given up, she let out a few more big screams before starting to cry quietly.

"I'll go get your mother," George mumbled and left the room quietly.

Cecilia shook her head as she tried to calm Juliet. She should have figured as much would happen; Juliet had never been too fond of strangers, especially older people. She'd generally cower in the presence of anyone over thirty. Cecilia used the stuffed elephant she brought inside with her to distract her daughter as she held her closer to her. "Shh…sweetie. It's OK. Mommy's here," she whispered just so Juliet would be able to hear her.

Cecilia's father and mother appeared from around the corner of the hallway and came and sat next to her on the couch. Juliet saw them come back into the room and immediately whipped her head around to face the other side of the room, placing her tiny chin on Cecilia's shoulder. Cecilia smiled; they could be so much alike at times that it almost scared her.

The dense silence that was hanging in the room between the three adults was quickly broken by the sounds of sobbing- not from Juliet, but from Cecilia's mother. She never thought that she would ever see her daughter again, and to see her now with her own daughter in tow was just too much for her to bear.

George grabbed his wife's hand in attempt to stabilize her emotions and tried to start a dialogue with Cecilia. "I'm happy to see you again honey." Cecilia didn't say anything. "What brings you back home?"

"Simon," she answered after a few long seconds. Her father's heart sank; he was hoping that she came back because she needed their help. Also, Simon was the one who started this whole mess to begin with- regardless of the fact that he had slightly forgiven him for deflowering his daughter.

"You're not trying to get back with him, are you?" her mother asked with regained composure.

"No. He-he wanted to see Juliet so I brought her to see him. Not willingly, but I'm here."

"Are you working?" her father asked.

She knew he would ask her this. "Not right now. I have enough money saved up to cover our expenses for a little while. I know it's probably not the smartest thing to do, not work, but we don't have the money to eat and pay for childcare. Besides, she's still too little and she doesn't do well with new people."

"Well, that's your choice."

Exactly, she thought. She was living her own life and she didn't need them. The main thing that allowed her to come back home and at least see her parents was the fact that she wasn't coming back on her hands and knees. She truly could do without their help. Cecilia was an independent adult, a mother, and although things weren't easy she didn't need them to clean up after her anymore.

"If you aren't working," Mrs. Smith asked, "then how did you afford to come here?"

"I drove. It wasn't the fastest way to get here, but it was cheapest."

"You drove two thousand miles by yourself with an infant?"

"No, someone came with me."

"Who?" George asked.

Cecilia was diffident about answering this one. She was well aware of how this would appear. She even had some of the same thoughts she assumed everyone else would have when they found out about Wilson, so she knew first hand what their opinions would be. They would think that she was crazy, that he was using her, that she needed more help than they could give her, that she was going to wind up pregnant again, that there must be something terribly wrong with this man- any of those things would suffice.

"My boyfriend came with me."

"What?" he said.

"You heard me," she said calmly, "and if you're going to try and fight me on that I'll be out of here quicker than I appeared."

"Please don't leave," her mother begged. "Tell us about your life in Buffalo. You are still in Buffalo, aren't you?"

"I am." She thought over the passed year or so in her head. There wasn't that much to tell. "I have my own apartment. It's in a good neighborhood and it's relatively inexpensive. Um…that's basically it."

"OK," George said. He didn't want to pressure her or make a comment that would make her flee. "So, this boyfriend of yours that drove with you, where is he now?"

"He's in his car in the driveway." In a moment of bravery, Cecilia chose to be more mature than her parents gave her credit for acting. "Would you like to meet him?" she asked as she stood with Juliet in tow. They nodded, almost too flabbergasted to speak, and followed her outside.

Cecilia spied Wilson sitting in the car and their eyes locked. She smiled reassuringly at him and brought her parents over. He got out of the car and stood smiling.

"Wilson, this is my dad, George, and my mom, Lisa." Wilson extended his hand and George took it.

"How old are you son?" George questioned. He was no fool.

"Twenty five."

He took a deep breath. "Don't hurt her. She's strong, but a person can only take so much."

"I know that, sir. But you don't have to worry about me," he took a long glance over at Cecilia, "I would never want to hurt her."

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A/N: I know it's been forever and a year since I updated, and I'm sorry. I just completely and totally lost any and all motivation that I had. But, I think I might actually finish this before 2010! There'd only be two or three more chapters left- four tops.

I had Cecilia go see her parents because I figured that would be a big thing for her. It would be too hard for her to go back to GlenOak and not see them. As strong as she is, and as strong as she thinks she is, they are still her parents. Besides, going to see them delays her going to see Simon.

Next chapter: Camden interaction

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Reviews don't hurt me, just like Wilson won't hurt Cecilia.

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	16. Chapter Sixteen

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Cecilia unhooked Juliet's car seat and gently lifted her baby girl into her arms. She grabbed the diaper bag off of the floor of Wilson's car and he closed the door for her. She turned and looked Wilson in the eye and he rubbed his hand over her cheek. Cecilia looked at the house and then back at him. This, not sleeping with Simon, was probably the stupidest thing she'd ever done.

Cecilia went first- up the driveway, down the walkway, and onto the front porch. Their shoes made clomping noises and they stepped up and stood, waiting for something to happen. Wilson, in keeping with his need to protect all females, placed his hand on her lower back and reached out to ring the bell. Cecilia was on the verge of hyperventilating.

The door opened a few moments later. Martin stood before the couple; Cecilia cringed. She didn't' have a preference as to anyone answering the door, quite frankly they all would have been a bad choice, but she hated to hurt Martin again. She left him for Simon, and for him to answer the door to see her with _another_ man- that was cruel on her part.

"Hi," she said, not knowing what else would be appropriate. He didn't answer her, just stared back at her cruelly. "Is Simon home by any chance?" Martin walked away and went back up the stairs. Wilson and Cecilia stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

"Simon, you're whore's back!"

Wilson smirked and so did Cecilia. If it were anyone else, she would have taken offense, but she brushed it off because she knew how hotheaded Martin could get. The next sounds they heard were Martin's door slamming and another door opening. Cecilia prayed that it was Simon and not someone else coming to see about Martin's comment.

Simon walked to the head of the stares, with every intention of going down them, but when he saw Cecilia's face he froze. There weren't words to describe what he was feeling. Simon couldn't even describe it to himself. His eyes went over all of Cecilia's features. He started at her eyes, then followed the length of her nose down to her lips. He'd missed those lips, but at the same time he hated them. Those lips were what started everyone's troubles. He continued his descent down the stairs and stood next to her. Everyone was quiet, even Juliet. All three of them were thinking up a safe sentence, something that they could say if the silence got to be too much that wouldn't start any problems.

Simon was the first to use his. "You dyed your hair."

"Yeah," she said, "the night before I left her. I went down to Piel's and picked up a bottle of 'Winter Chestnut Brown' and got this." She picked up some of her hair in her hand.

Wilson smiled to himself. He already knew that Cecilia was not a natural brunette.

"Well, I think it looks great on you," Simon commented.

"Thanks."

Simon pulled himself out of his stupor long when the conversation stopped to notice the man standing next to Cecilia. "Who's this?" he asked, small amounts of anger rising from within him.

Cecilia sensed his volatile nature, so she decided to overlook some of the truths she had found out en route to GlenOak- truths that Simon obviously didn't recognize at the moment. "M-my boyfriend." Silently, she cursed herself for feeling ashamed of Wilson.

"Figures. You always were the type of girl who needed a man in her life."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind," he said as he lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry."

"You should be Simon." She sighed. "So do you want to go out back and talk?"

"Sure, that's fine." He made a few steps toward the kitchen and then stopped. "He's coming with us?" he asked pointing to Wilson.

"Yes, I want him with me." She got defensive of Wilson. "Why else would you think I brought him with me?"

"Fine, fine," Simon mumbled.

The trio walked out the back door and sat on the step of the back porch in a Cecilia sandwich. Juliet had been god up until then, but she was starting to get antsy. She pulled on Cecilia's shirt, but she got not response out of her. Next, she turned to Wilson. She put her arms out to him, signaling she wanted him to hold her. Wilson was not about to take Juliet off of Cecilia's lap, so he grabbed one of her hand and started to jiggle it gently. She responded happily and vocally, which grabbed Simon's attention.

"Hey, that's my kid you're playing with."

"OK Simon, calm down."

Simon stared at the man sitting next to Cecilia and cocked his head questioningly. Something in his voice has struck a cord with Simon. Upon closer inspection, Simon realized Wilson and Cecilia had already figured out a few hours prior. "Wilson?"

Cecilia sat up a little straighter and Wilson turned his body more toward Simon. "Hi Simon."

"You…you're dating Cecilia?" Wilson nodded. "How? How did this happen?"

Cecilia took it from there. "We met at a grocery store and then we started dating."

Simon stood up and started to walk away, toward the side of the house. "He's too old for you!" he screamed as he turned back around.

"That's none of your business. I'm my own person and I can date whomever I choose to."

"He's the same age as Matt, you know that? He was in college when we were only in the seventh grade!" He started pacing back and forth. "Do you know he and Mary almost got married? But _he_ – he broke her heart when he broke up with her. He has a kid. He was a father at sixteen!"

"S-"

Some of the family had heard Simon yelling and came outside to see what was going on. Martin, Annie, and Lucy came out from the kitchen. Kevin came from the garage apartment. They all stood aghast at what they saw before them.

"You know, I'm sure Mary would love to hear about this. 'Hey Mare, guess what? You're ex-fiancé is dating my ex-girlfriend and the mother of my daughter.'"

Wilson stood up. He had had enough of Simon's antics. "Speaking of your daughter, isn't that who this whole thing was about?"

Simon got right in Wilson's face and stared into his eyes, panting. "You know, I never liked you. You always had this 'holier than thou' attitude about you." He started to use his hands to portray his anger. "I'm sick of you and people like you. I'm sick of everyone thinking that I am less than them just because I'm not perfect."

One thing that Wilson hated was when people judged him. He had been through so much in his life and had learned the hard way that you can never judge a book by its cover. "Hey-"

Before Wilson had a chance to finish his comeback, Simon snapped- and had every intention of snapping Wilson in half. Simon was never one to be violent, but he hadn't been himself in a long while. Simon took half a step back and clenched his fingers into a fist, and punched Wilson as hard as he could. Wilson, with his quick reflexes, dodged the blow as much as possible. Simon hit him in the jaw rather than in the temple.

Wilson lunged at Simon and they both fell on the grass. The wrestled each other, but it was a losing battle. Wilson was about twice the size of Simon and could take him easily. Mostly, he was trying to pin Simon down, but Simon's arms and legs continued to flail with an intention to hurt Wilson.

"You're dating my girlfriend!" Simon screamed as he rolled on top of Wilson.

The Camden and Camden related spectators never thought twice about what was going on in front of them. No one cared that there was a fight going on their backyard. Kevin finally went over and peeled Simon off of Wilson easily. Kevin asked for Martin's assistance and he held back Wilson. Wilson removed Martin's arms from his body and went back over toward Cecilia as he held his bleeding lip.

"Guys like you make me sick Simon. You give all unwed fathers a bad rep. You leave your girlfriend, you child, you assume no responsibility…and you resort to violence the second your pride is threatened." Cecilia put her hand on his arm and he quieted. "He started it."

"I know Wilson," she said, "but now you're going to stop it."

Lucy, who had been standing quietly in the corner, recognized the familiar face. "Wilson?"

"Hi," he said. He still had not completely calmed. Lucy approached him and then went inside disgusted. Annie and Martin followed her; Wilson's heart sank. Now he knew how Cecilia must have felt.

Kevin went to Wilson to offer his assistance. After all, it was his civic duty. "Come inside. Let me get you some ice or something."

Wilson looked to Cecilia and she nodded. He knew that she wanted to be able to talk to Simon alone. Wilson went in with Kevin, leaving only Cecilia, Simon, and Juliet in the backyard.

Cecilia sat back down on the back step and Simon sat next to her. "Are you still interested in meeting your daughter?"

He half smiled at her. Her beauty far surpassed everything else. "Yes. Of course."

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A/N: Well, we finally got them to GlenOak, in the Camden house, and had that inevitable fight. But that was just the fist fight my friend. Just wait for the verbal prowess that will be shown. Or, at least, I hope it will come off like that.

Also, I am awful at writing fights. I really, really stink at it. Physical, verbal, whatever. I hear the emotion in my head but I know none of it comes across nearly as strong on paper. I'm actively working on it, though.

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Next chapter'll be Cecilia/Simon talk, and Wilson will also have a conversation with someone.

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One of two more chapters are left.

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I think this was kind of anticlimactic. What about you? Did you like it?

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	17. Chapter Seventeen

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Simon looked intently at Juliet before saying anything. There was nothing he could say to express the sheer joy that was radiating from inside of him. Cecilia sensed Juliet getting scared, so she jiggled her knee to try and make the infant forget about the fear. Cecilia was afraid that Juliet would start crying for Simon and he would snap again.

No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn't prevent Juliet from crying. She stared at Simon with her blue-grey eyes that resembled her mothers and tears started to form. She called out to her mother the only way she knew how and clung to Cecilia as best she could. Simon sat back, away from her, and looked at Cecilia questioningly.

"She didn't cry for Wilson. She wanted him to hold her."

"Juliet's known Wilson since the day she was born. She's comfortable with him."

"But I'm her father," he protested.

"She doesn't know you Simon. That's all that it is."

Simon knew she was right, and that hurt him. It made him want to win Cecilia back. "So what's the deal with you and Wilson?" He had to scope out the competition before making any sort of move.

"There's no deal." Simon glared at her. "OK, fine. I really like him. And I think he truly cares for me, too, otherwise he wouldn't have come here. We're really close."

"Exactly how close?"

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "I don't have to answer that." She was well aware that the answer she gave still answered Simon's question, but at least she didn't have to verbalize it.

Simon put his head in his hands. "I knew it," he whispered

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Wilson and Kevin sat together on the front porch. They both wanted to ask each other some things, and they didn't want to do that inside of the house. Outside was always a much better, and more private, place to chat.

"This is awkward," Kevin said after a few moments.

"Why?" Wilson asked.

"Because I know so much about you and I've never even met you." Wilson didn't really understand, so Kevin clarified. "They all have big mouths- especially Lucy."

Wilson laughed. "Yeah, she'd talk everyone's ear off." He paused and then forged forward. "Why does she hate Cecilia so much? Why does the whole family hate her?"

"They're not really angry with her. They're angry with Simon. But they can't be angry with him; they don't want to be mad at him. I think Cecilia's more of a scapegoat than anything else."

"Well that was dumb of them. They've pretty much cut off all contact with her and her daughter- Simon's daughter."

Kevin turned optimistic. "Maybe Simon will be able to fix things. For things to be OK, it has to start with him."

Wilson shook his head. "It's not up to him. It's up to Cecilia to forgive him for abandoning her, and that's not going to happen. Not for a while anyway. He hurt her worse than she ever has been hurt before."

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"Can I hold her?" Simon asked after a few moments of dead silence. He had upset Cecilia by asking too much about her relationship with Wilson, so she hadn't said much for a little while.

"She's going to start screaming out you," she warned him.

"I don't care. I want to hold her."

"Well, she doesn't really need to be 'held'," she said as she handing Juliet over to him. "Just sit her on you knee and prop up her back so she doesn't fall over."

Simon did as he was told and started grinning from ear to ear. "How do I look with her?"

"Fine," she said indifferently.

He put his hand on her knee and she scooted away from him. "Come on, don't be like this."

Cecilia stood to get out of his reach. She didn't want him to touch her ever again. "Don't be like what? I don't want you doing this to me; I won't let you do this."

"Do what?"

"Tell me that you love me and then leave me again. You don't love me. You never did love me." Tears formed behind her eyes but she blinked them away. She swore to herself that she wouldn't cry in front of him, and she intended on keeping that promise. "I can't believe you did what you did. I still can't believe it."

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"You know, Ben's my brother."

Wilson laughed heartily. "I thought I saw a resemblance." He paused for a moment, the serious tone in his voice back. "Would it be wrong to ask about her?"

Kevin half smiled. "She's married- to a guy she brought home one Christmas she was in high school. They met at a homeless shelter Eric made her volunteer at. Then when she was at the airport she ran into him…and they eloped."

Again Wilson laughed, but this time it was more reminiscent than in fun. "How long ago?"

"Well, she married a week after Lucy and me so…21 months."

"Is she happy?" he asked seriously. Wilson sincerely wanted to know the answer. They didn't separate on the best terms, but he didn't want anything bad for Mary.

Kevin nodded. "As far as I know. She had a son seven months ago."

"Good for her."

"You're not thinking about…" Kevin let his question fall.

"No, absolutely not. I wouldn't want to impose myself on her life. Besides, I'm in love with Cecilia."

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"I still don't understand why you are so angry with me," Simon confessed.

This enraged Cecilia to no end. First of all, he should have been able to figure out why she was especially perturbed. And second, she'd been doing nothing _but_ tell him why she was so mad. "Simon, we've been over this." He looked hurt, so she continued to explain it to him, _again_. "I'm mad because you could have cared less what happened to me when I was pregnant with your child. Then one day it dawns on you that you're losing me so you make up some lame excuse about wanting parental rights just to get to see me again."

"Can you blame me? You're perfect."

"Simon, stop this; I'm begging you. I'm with someone else now. You-"

"Are you in love with him?"

Cecilia grew quiet. "What?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Are you in love with Wilson?

She hesitated before answering. She didn't really know whether or not she could trust another man after what Simon had put her through. But Wilson wasn't just some other man, not to her anyway. Cecilia stopped thinking with her head and, for the first time in a long time, thought with her heart. "Yes."

Simon got up and went inside, slamming the back door behind him so hard that she thought the glass would shatter. Cecilia sat for a little while and gathered her thoughts before getting up and walking around the side of the house to Wilson's car parked in the driveway in the front. There was no way she was going to chance entering the house again. She heard Wilson's voice coming from the stoop and spun around; she immediately saw him chatting with Kevin. Both men stood up and went over to Cecilia.

"Everything OK?" Wilson asked.

She grabbed his hand and laced her fingers with his. "More or less, yes." She turned to Kevin. "Thanks for all your help. I appreciate it." He nodded. "Would it be all right if I kept in touch with you?"

"Please do," he said. "Don't let the rest of them scare you. You'll always have me to turn to for information."

Wilson squeezed Cecilia's hand and she turned to him. "I'm ready to go."

Wilson smiled widely. He knew that she had let go of most of her past; he could see it in her face. They both said good-bye to Kevin and, after getting Juliet back into her car seat, got back in the SUV themselves. Before they pulled out of the driveway, Cecilia placed her hand on his knee.

"Wilson?"

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath, "I love you."

His face broke into a wide smile and he kissed her passionately, cradling her head with his hand. "I love you, too," he whispered as he pulled away.

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THE END 

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A/N: Well, it's over. This has to be **the** crappiest ending ever, but what can you do? This story went from great, to eh, then picked up a little, then totally fizzled out. All my stories do that. I need to work on that for the next one.

Again, I want to apology for the infrequent updates of this story. Not that anyone was really waiting with bated breath, but I apologize nonetheless.

Next story, who knows. I have this idea for a Mary/Wilson supernatural/mystery kind of piece, but I think it might be to weird to right. It's kind of too out there- literally. Maybe if I get adventurous that'll be my next thing. One thing is for sure, though. Wilson/Cecilia is done, at least for me. I couldn't do this again. As cut as I think they would be together, it got to be way to hard at the end. Anything else I write will be Mary/Wilson.

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This piece was a bit of stretch for me. I'd love it if you told me what you thought.

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